quab C^ultur^ 



WOOD 




COPYRIGHTED 1916 

by 

D. RUSS WOOD 



Squab Culture 



BY D. RUSS ^A/OOD 



^I.OO PER COPY 



PUBLISHED BY 

The Indiana Squab Company 

Terre Haute, Indiana, U. S. A. 
(Copyright Applied For) 



Prefesis 



sr4 67 

.Vl/6 



The information contained in this manual has to 
do entirely with squab breeding pigeons. It is writ- 
ten with the idea in mind of helping those already 
interested in this rapidly growing industry, or those 
about to embark in it. It is written and compiled 
by one who has experienced all the difficulties en- 
countered by the beginner, and has learned from 
those experiences how to properly and profitably 
care for and raise pigeons and squabs. 

At the present time there are two breeds of 
pigeons extensively being used for squab breed- 
ing purposes. The Homer pigeon and the Carneau. 
(Plural spelled Carneaux, and both pronounced 
alike: "Car-No.") Runts and Crosses are not used 
as squab breeders to any very great extent. 




HOMER PIGEON 

The Homer and Carneau are both of Belgian 
origin, and you will frequently hear the Homer 
referred to as Antwerp.. The Carneau pigeon as a 
rule is somewhat larger than the Homer, and as a 
natural result produces a slightly larger squab. 
This was the situation a few years ago, when the 
first Carneau were imported /Jntotjiis country, but 
the difference in size of tl^s^ ftwji^Jiind of birds 

JUfJ-9 1916 ©cfl4;51414 



seems unfortunately to be gradually disappearing. 
Unscrupulous pigeon dealers have played havoc 
with the true Carneau, and you will find all kinds 
of funny looking pigeons being masqueraded about 
the country as real Carneaux. There are, fortun- 
ately, still a few reputable dealers from whom it 
is safe to purchase this stock. 

Unlike the Homing pigeon, the Carneau may be 
permitted to fly at large after having been con- 
fined in a new home a couple of weeks. Turn an 
adult Homer loose and it is, as a rule, not many 
minutes until it has started in the direction of the 
place of its birth. 

Which— Homers or Carneaux? This question has 
been asked the writer many, many times. Both 
breeds are fine producers of squabs, if given proper 
care and food. Both breeds of birds will produce 
practically the same number of squabs in twelve 
months. The Carneau would probably have a little 
the best of it in the amount of actual weight pro- 
duced. The writer believes the Homer will, in the 
long run, prove the most profitable squab raiser- 
he is certainly by far the handsomer bird of the 




CARNEAU PIGEON 



two. Numerous experienced squab raisers have ex- 
perimented with both breeds, and hold to about the 
same view. The Homer is decidedly a more in- 
telligent bird and can be taught to race, which of 
course is impossible in the case of the Carneaux as 
they possess but little, if any. Homing instinct. 

Complete failure has unfortunately been the only 
reward of the person who has attempted to profit- 
ably breed squabs from the common barn loft var- 
iety of pigeon, such as you see flying about your 
town and nesting in the eaves of buildings. They 
are quite small when compared with the Homer 
or Carneau and produce a small, generally dark 
meated, squab. Neither are they prolific. Good 
Homers and Carneau produce on an average about 
8 pairs of squabs to every mated pair of birds per 
year. Common pigeons seldom if ever produce 
quite half that number. Common pigeons can be 
purchased for as little as 10 cents each. Good 
Homers and Carneaux are in big demand at from 
$2.00 to $4.00 per pair. 

The writer remembers very distinctly starting 
into the pigeon and squab business with but one 
pair of good Homers in an old barn loft. Yes, and 
he made a success of that barn-loft venture, too, 
or he wouldn't now be the president and manager 
of one of the largest pigeon and squab plants in 
the country. This is said in passing to set aside 
the theory that an especially built pigeon house is 
essential to success. It's all right to have such a 
building, if one's means will permit, but notlijng is 
further from the truth than to say that such a 
building is a positive necessity. Any kind of an 
old building or barn loft will suffice, if it can be 
so arranged as to keep out dampness, cold winds 
and rats. Barn lofts as a rule make fine squab 
houses because of the fact that they are high and, 
as a rule, dry. Some unused out-building of course 
makes a much more convenient place. 



THE AUTHOR. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE UNIT HOUSE. 



How It Is Built — Its Size — General Specifications 
Covering Construction and Equipment. 

The unit house can be one unit or twenty units 
in length just as one's funds and ground will per- 
mit. The modern unit house is built upon posts 
which protrude from the ground about two feet. 
Six inch cedar posts being most generally used. 
Upon these posts is built the floor. A double floor 
with ordinary building paper between the thick- 
nesses is preferable. Use 2x4 stock for joists, or- 
dinary sheeting for the first floor and shiplap for 
the second floor. No. 2 stock is amply good. The 
frame work and rafters are also 2x4 stock. The 
roof is of ordinary sheeting, covered with a good 
grade of prepared roofing. The entire house inside 
is lined with tar paper in order to keep out drafts 
and dampness. The roof can be of the ordinary 
shed variety, with just sufficient pitch to carry off 
the water, or it can be of the hip shaped variety if 
preferred. The size of a single unit should not be 
less than 10 feet wide, 12 feet from front to rear 
and the roof not lower than 7 feet at its lowest 
point. Make provision for one window, in size 
about 24x32, in the front of each unit. If you are 
building but a single unit the door can be put in the 
side or rear of the building as desired. The win- 
dow is of course to enable the birds to pass in and 
out from the squab house into the flying pen on the 
outside. The window should be arranged so that it 
may be opened or closed as desired. A sliding sash 
is the simplest, and permits the window being only 
partially open in cold weather. 

If more than one unit is to be built then a change 
in the dimensions of the building is necessary. It 
should be built 15 feet in dimensions from front to 
rear and an additional 10 feet added to the length 
for each additional unit it is proposed to erect. 



Three feet is added to the depth of the building to 
permit of a passage way at the rear of the various 
units. Two inch chicken wire is used for dividing 
the building into 10 by 12 foot units. A wire door 
is placed at the rear of each unit along the passage 
way, and each unit has a window in front opening 
into the flying pen, as previously stated. Build 
your house so that the windows are facing the 
south. Your flying pen will then extend in that 
direction and at all times the pigeons will get the 
sun. 



AN INEXPENSIVE SINGLE UNIT SQUAB HOUSE. 





In the case of a house of more than two units it 
is desirable to place one small window in the rear 
of the building along the passage way. One win- 
dow for every 5 units is plenty. In extremely hot 
weather, or in warm climates, both the front and 
rear windows can be left open continually and per- 
mit a thorough circulation of fresh air through the 



squab house. The pictures printed in this book 
will give you a very good general idea of both the 
interior and exterior arrangement of both the single 
unit and the multiple unit squab house. 

Where or whenever possible it is desirable to 
use empty orange, egg or grape fruit boxes for the 
pigeons to build their nests in. You will find them 
much cheaper than to use lumber for the purpose, 
and in addition to that they are easily taken down 
and cleaned. They should be laid on their sides 
one upon the top of the other from the floor up, 
around the walls of your squab house. The open- 
ings should be turned toward the center of the 
squab house as illustrated. 

A MULTIPLE UNIT HOUSE. 






J' /'a.sta^e. vVo-^ 



LJ 



'<>-■ 






_ I \A/ />aL / 



m 



^t 






^ 

^ 

^ 



...L. 



These crates consist of two parts which are about 
12 inches square. Just the proper size for pigeon 
nests. If these crates are not obtainable in your 
town in sufficient quantities you can of course build 
your nest boxes out of inch or one-half inch lumber. 
They can be built any place along the sides of your 
squab house, and will largely resemble pigeon holes 
in a desk when completed. Do not run your nest 
boxes up higher than six or seven feet. If you do 
you will experience considerable difficulty when 
cleaning time comes. It is not necessary to nail 
a slat across the front of the opening at the bot- 
tom of the nest box, with the idea in mind of keep- 
ing the eggs or squabs from tumbling out. This 



was done in years past, but has proved a waste of 
time and material, and makes cleaning the nests 
difficult. Squabs are not given to falling from their 
nests. If they did there would not be so many com- 
mon pigeons flying about, for their nests as a rule 
are up under the eaves of houses and barns, and it 
is not often you find a dead squab lying upon the 
street. Pigeons build their nests very much in the 
shape of a saucer, and the litle ones nestle down 
pretty closely in the nest for the first few weeks 
of their existence. .Sometimes they are knocked out 
of the nest because of fighting among the older 
birds, and there is really little one can do to pre- 
vent an occasional domestic misunderstanding 
among his flock. 

In addition to the nest box many breeders 
equip the nest box with a nest bowl. This is a small 
saucer shaped object, about 9 or 10 inches in 
diameter. Some of ^liem !are made from wood, 
some from wood pulp while some breeders use a 
nest bowl made from earthenware. The wood and 
wood pulp bowls are as a rule fastened upon a small 
piece of wood about 8 inches square with a screw 
or with nails. This keeps the bowl from being 
upset. The writer uses nest bowls, and strongly 
recommends them to others. Tliey can be pur- 
chased from most squab and pigeon companies. 

If you use the crates as suggested above for nest 
boxes, you should be sure not to have less than 
one double section crate for every pair of pigeons 
in your squab house. If you build your nest boxes 
from lumber be sure and have two nests for every 
pair of pigeons. This is made necessary by the 
fact that after the first set of youngsters are be- 
tween three and four weeks of age the old birds 
will build a second nest, and if there are not ample 
nest boxes for them to build in the hen pigeon will 
lay her eggs in the same nest with the young squabs, 
where they are very apt to be crushed by the 
youngsters. This sometimes occurs no matter how 
many extra boxes there may be. In other words 
have two nesting places for every pair of birds in 
your squab house. Ten or a dozen extra nesting 
places is far better than too few. This will answer 
the often asked question, "how many pairs of 
pigeons can I put in a house that measures so many 
feet one way by so many feet another?" Theoreti- 
cally, you can place in your squab house one pair of 
working pigeons for every two nests you can crowd 
in. Practical experience has proved this to be un- 
wise. Pigeons work far more advantageously 



when there are not too many pairs of them to- 
gether. Fifty pairs, one hundred pigeons, is the 
usual number placed in a pen together by most 
squab breeders. The single units described here- 
tofore in this manual will comfortably take care of 
50 pairs, and also allow the use of 60 orange or egg 
crates, which would give that many pigeons ample 
nesting room. 



NEST BOXES AND NEST BOWLS. 




This photograph shows you the arrangement of the nest 
bowls in the nest boxes. The nest boxes in the picture are 
empty orange crates. The nest bowls are of the wood pulp 
variety. Each bowl is securely fastened with a screw to a 
small block of one inch lumber 8 or 9 inches square. The 
bowl can be easily removed at any time it becomes necessary 
to clean out the nest box. 



CHAPTER II. 



FLYING PEJf— NESTING MATERIAL. 



Any Size Flying Pen Will Do— Tobacco Stems Good 
Nesting Material. 

To succeed with squab breeding pigeons they 
should not be permited to fly at large. They must 
be pretty closely confined so their thoughts are 
continually on their household duties and little else. 
They must, however, have plenty of warm sun light 
and fresh air. For this purpose you should attach 
to your loft or squab house a wire flying pen, which 
may be extended out as far as practicable. The 
framework of this flying pen can and generally is 
made from some light material. This frame is cov- 
ered with 2 inch chicken wire w'hich is not expen- 
sive and can be purchased at any hardware or 
general store. A small wire gate should be placed 
at some convenient place about the flying pen to 
permit you to get in or out as desired. In the case 
of the model squab house, heretofore referred to, 
the flying pen would of necessity be but 10 feet wide. 
In the case of a barn or an out-building it can be 
as wide as the building. Fifteen to 20 feet is a good 
length, and it can be as high as your needs may re- 
quire. In connection with the model squab house 
it is as a rule about 9 feet high, and the gates are 
in the end of the flying pen. The flying pens in 
connection with the multiple unit house are, of 
course, divided every 10 feet with the 2 inch chicken 
wire. 

Seven or eight perches should be placed in 
each flying pen in order to provide a place for the 
birds, not busy on the inside of the house, to roost 
and sun themselves, which they dearly love to do. 
These are easily and quickly made by leaning a 
couple of small 'pieces of board about 2 inches 
square by 12 feet long against the front of the 
building and allowing them to extend out into the 

10 



flying pen at an angle of about 45 degrees. Tack 
upon these two pieces six or seven slats from six 
to seven feet long, and about 18 inches apart, and 
you have a fine set of perches. (See illustration.) 
The bottom of the flying pen should be covered 
with gravel or sand to a depth of 3 or 4 inches. Not 
only do the birds greatly enjoy picking out and 
eating the small bits of gravel, but your flying pen 
is kept free from pools of water and mud. The 
real necessity of the gravel is dealt with more at 
length later on. By all means face your flying pen 
to the south if possible. The object of the flying 
pen is to enable the birds to get outside into the 
sun. It is not erected with the idea in mind of giv- 
ing them a place to fly about in. The author does 
not agree with those who advocate confining the 
birds entirely within the squab house, and never 
allowing them to get outside. They need and must 
have plenty of fresh air and sun, or eggs will be 
few and sick pigeons plentiful. 

BOX FOR NESTING MATERIAL. 




This box is two feet square and two feet high. All four 
sides and the bottom are made of lath. The top is con- 
structed of half inch lumber, with a small rim around the 
edges as illustrated. The top lifts off. It is not hinged. One 
of these boxes filled with nesting material should be placed 
in the center of your squab house, and in the case of a mul- 
tiple unit house, one should be placed in the center of each 
unit. They are easily and quickly made, and cost but lit- 
tle. Not only is your nesting material kept clean and fresh, 
but it is also very easy for the birds to get such nesting 
material as they desire. 

11 



Pigeons build their own nests from bits of straw, 
hay, tobacco stems, pine needles, etc. As a rule the 
hen pigeon sits in the nest and the cock bird flies 
to the place where the nesting material has been 
placed, picks up with his bill the piece that suits 
him best and carries it back to the nest box where 
the hen arranges it to suit her. This process is 
frequently reversed and the hen pigeon does the 
carrying while the cock sits on the nest. 

There are many varieties of nesting material. 
Tobacco stems seem to be more generally in use 
than all others because they have a great tendency 
to keep away lice. Pigeons seem very fond of them 
and are able to build splendid nests by their use. 
They absorb dampness very easily, however, and in 
damp climates or the winter time it is best to mix 
them with some other nesting material. Equal 
parts of straw and tobacco stems make a fine all 
year round nesting material. Your nesting material 
should not be carelessly thrown upon the floor of 
your squab house for the pigeons to make filthy 
with their droppings and the manure on their feet. 
An ordinary berry crate which has slatted sides and 
ends make a splendid place in which to place nest- 
ing material. The birds will stick their heads 
through the slatted openings and pick out the bit 
of nesting material they wish. 



12 



CHAPTER III. 



DRIYING— LAYING. 



When the First Egg Is Laid and When It Will Hatch. 

After the nest lias been completed to the entire 
satisfaction of the pigeons the cock bi-rd will begin 
to drive the hen about the squab house and flying 
pen. He will keep everlastingly at her, picking her 
upon the head and back with the object in view of 
compelling her to return to the nest and lay the 
first egg. He never appears entirely satisfied until 
this has been accomplished. A hen pigeon in or- 
der to lay a fertile egg, must of necessity had the 
attention of the cock bird. You will see a pair of 
birds billing, and treading follows as a rule. The 
hen pigeon as a general rule lays her eggs late in 
the afternoon, along about 4 o'clock. There are ex- 
ceptions to this rule, of course, but it is generally 
the case. It is presumed that she will lay but two 
eggs, the second one putting in an appearance after 
an interval of one day. There are many cases 
where a hen pigeon has laid three eggs but you 
might pass through years of the pigeon business 
and not encounter a single case. The rule is but 
two eggs. 

The real process of incubation does not begin 
until the second egg has been deposited in the nest. 
The hen pigeon does little but hover over the first 
egg just keeping it warm enough not to become 
chilled. After the second egg has been laid the hen 
and cock go methodically about the process of turn- 
ing it into a squab. The hours that each shall sit 
upon the eggs are proportioned about as follows: 
The hen pigeon from about 4 in the afternoon until 
about 10 o'clock the next morning, and the cock 
bird during the day time between these hours. The 
cock bird apparently gets a little the best of the 
arrangement. He does for the time being only. 

13 



After the young are hatched and are from three to 
four weeks old, he has double duties to perform, as 
you shall see later on. On the seventeenth day 
from the day the second egg was laid the young 
pigeons should begin to make their appearance in 
this world. They break their way through the shell 
in much the same manner as chickens, picking away 
at the shell from the inside until they are enabled 
to squirm out. There is nothing particularly 
beautiful about a newly born squab. Just a little, 
yellow looking object with tight shut eyes, which 
do not open for a week or ten days after birth. 

Do not make the mistake of handling your pigeons' 
eggs too much, especially at about the time they 
are due to hatch. Above all do not assume you can 
assist nature any by picking away parts of the shell 
with your finger tips in an effort to hurry the new- 
comers advent into this world. If a squab is des- 
tined to live it will get out of the shell all right 
without any assistance from you. In the early 
stages of the author's experience with pigeons he 
attempted this several times before he learned bet- 
ter. With proper care and food, each pair of your 
breeders should produce between 7 and 9 pairs of 
squabs each year. 

You have absolutely nothing to do with the feed- 
ing of the young more than to supply the old birds 
with the proper kind of food. A carefully prepared 
chapter on that particular portion of pigeon cul- 
ture is contained in this manual. It is possibly the 
most important of all the information given in this 
volume, and should be read carefully. Dur- 
ing the first week or ten days of a squab's existence 
its diet consists entirely of what is termed "pigeon 
milk." Possibly you have heard of such a thing, 
but in all probability you never believed such an 
article existed. It is a milky appearing fluid, 
rather thick, which the old birds have sequestered 
in their crops during the last ten days of the in- 
cubation period. The old birds take the bill of the 
young ones inside their bill and force this liquid 
down the throat of the young pigeon. To all ap- 
pearances they pump it in, as they do with all 
other substances which they feed their young. 
After ten days have elapsed the old birds begin to 
"pump" whole bits of grain into the squabs. 



14 



CHAPTER IT. 



FEEDING AXD WATERING. 



Clean, Dry, Hard Grain a Necessity — The Various 

Grains Used — Tlie Protected Drinking 

Fountain. 



A flock of pigeons can be more quickly ruined 
by being fed improperly and improper foods than 
in any other manner the author can call to mind. 
This statement, of course, applies entirely to squab 
breeding pigeons which are confined, and are not 
permitted to fly at large. Pigeons out in the open 
apparently have ample opportunity to pick up the 
various articles so necessary to their healthy exist- 
ence. Those confined inside a squab house and a 
flying pen must of necessity be furnished with all 
that will keep them well, busy and contented. 

Clean, dry, hard grain is an absolute necessity. 
No progress whatever will be made with a flock of 
pigeons that are carelessly fed, or are given things 
which long experience has proved are detrimental 
to their health. 

The writer has found corn to be the great staple 
food for pigeons, and recommends nothing but 
the whole grains of corn. Not cracked corn. 
Cracked corn absorbs dampness, and in many 
cases the cracked corn you purchase has been made 
up from moldy whole corn, which if used will give 
the birds a sour crop, and tends toward canker 
Be extremely careful about buying any of the in- 
numerable poultry feeds so extensively advertised. 
What will do for chickens will not do for pigeons, 
and the greater percentage of the advertised feeds 
are prepared by those who devote almost their en- 
tire time and energy to chicken feed, and know but 
little of the needs of the confined squab breeding 
pigeon. 

15 



Your flock of pigeons should not continually, month 
in and month out be fed the same mixture of feed. 
Like yourself they greatly enjoy a change of diet. 
By far the safest procedure in feeding is to purchase 
the various grains you propose to feed your birds 
and mix them yourself. In extremely hot weather it 
is a good plan to cut down on the amount of corn 
fed. If you purchase mixed feed from some dealer 
this cannot be done. If you are so situated that it 
is impossible for you to purchase the various kinds 
of grain so necessary, then of course, you must re- 
sort to the ready mixed variety of feed. In this 
case, however, buy from some pigeon or squab 
company. There are plenty of them about the 
country, and their pigeon feed, even though mixed, 
is pretty apt to be just what you want. Most of 
them have mixed pigeon feed for sale, although 
there are some, of course, who do not. The aver- 
age man in charge of the average feed store in the 
average town knows absolutely nothing about what 
should or should not be fed to pigeons. It is very 
dangerous to act upon any suggestions he may care 
to offer, unless of course he has personally had 
considerable experience in handling pigeons him- 
self, which is not frequently the case. 

Kaffir corn is another grain very greatly relish- 
ed by pigeons, and can be fed to them in large 
quantities without the slightest fear of difficulty. 
It is a very small grain, hardly the size of first class 
hemp seed. Being comparatively soft it is easily 
digested by the birds. It costs but little more than 
whole corn and in mixing feed about equal parts 
of both are used. 

Wheat is a very dangerous grain for the beginner 
in the pigeon business to experiment with. Too 
much wheat has a very weakening effect upon 
pigeons, and if fed to them in too large quantities 
will weaken them to such an extent they will be 
unable to fly from the floor of the squab house. 
Pigeons are very fond of it, and will eat it to the 
exclusion of whole corn and kaffir corn if given the 
opportunity. A very small proportion of it mixed 
with other grains is recommended. Do not use 
new wheat, damp wheat or the so called white 
wheat. Old, hard, dry red wheat is what should be 
used exclusively. If you were going to mix up, 
we will say, an ordinary bucket of feed, out of the 
three grains so far mentioned, a good proportion 
would be two-fifths of whole corn, two-fifths of 
kaffir corn and one-fifth of wheat. 

16 . 



Canada peas, and a mixture of them with the 
ordinary cow or field pea, is being very extensively 
fed to squab breeding pigeons. They contain a big 
percentage of protein which is so essential in pro- 
ducing big squabs. At the present writing the price 
of Canadian peas has so advanced they have almost 
become prohibitive, and the ordinary field pea is 
being used in many cases as a substitute. They 
can be fed to pigeons in various ways. Mixing a 
small proportion of them with the other grains, is 

FEEDERS. 




The top illustration is of a dowel-hopper feeder. This 
style of feeder is extensively used where feeding is done from 
a passage way at the rear of the units. The front of the 
feeder protrudes just inside the units through an opening left 
for that purpose at the bottom of the wire partition which 
separates the units from the passage way. The front board 
of the V-shaped trough does not reach the bottom by about 
% of an inch. This permits the grain to drop down into the 
spa'ce immediately back of the row of dowel pins, where the 
birds can easily reach and consume it. The feeder illustrated 
above is 36 inches long. The bottom board is 1-in. by 8-in. 
The trough is made from 1-in. by 6-in. boards. One-quarter 
inch dowels are used, and they fit into 1-in. by lV>-in. pieces 
at the top and bottom. There is no cover over the trough 
portion of the feeder, which extends out into the passage 
way. One of the galvanized drinking fountains illustrated 
elsewhere can be set along side of this feeder, and in this 
manner both feeding and watering can be done from the pas- 
sage w^ay without the necessity of entering the units. 

The lower illusti-ation is of a trough feeder for use inside 
the units. The bar running across the Lop of the feeder is 
fastened with but one nail at each end. A hole is bored in 
the end pieces through which these nails are driven into the 
bar. The bar is made from one inch square stock, and will 
revolve at the slightest touch. Birds are thus kept from 
alighting upon it and making the feed filthy with their drop- 
pings. The trough is three feet long, four inches wide, and 
the side pieces are four inches high. This same style trough, 
in shorter lengths, is frequently used for grit and oyster 
shell. The construction is extremely simple, and one can be 
made in a few minutes time. 

17 



the course most usually pursued, although many 
breeders feed them as a delicacy, and scatter a 
few hands full of them on the floor' of the squab 
house at feeding times where they are quickly gob- 
bled up by the birds. 

It should be kept in mind at all times that the 
grains and mipfijures recommended here are for 
pigeons that are producing squabs. It is, of course, 
not necessary to feed as expensive a mixture to a 
lot of young birds you are ritising to breeding age. 
Feed such birds extremely fatty foods, and too much 
of the same, and they will become indolent and lazy 
and not begin to mate up and lay eggs as promptly 
as they should. It has been truthfully said that 
pigeons as a rule do not over eat, as is the case with 
chickens. This is no doubt true, but too much rich 
food placed in front of a lot of young birds, who 
have nothing else in life to do but sit about and 
fuss with one another, will make them mighty fat 
and lazy in a very short time. Your old birds, with 
squabs in the nest, are kept busy supplying the 
wants of their incessantly hungry off-spring, and 
few of them will suffer from over feeding. 

Peanuts have come into their own in the pigeon 
world. By peanuts is meant the peanut kernel, 
not the salted kind, nor the roasted peanut. Just 
the ordinary raw peanut with the shell or husk re- 
moved. And it is not necessary that they be ground 
up or that they be the little small Spanish variety. 
The author has fed to his private flock of birds, the 
birds that have been the subject of all of his ex- 
periments, raw peanut kernels larger than the or- 
dinary piece of shelled field corn and the rapidity 
with which they made them disappear was aston- 
ishing. Instances of pigeons choking themselves 
to death on whole shelled corn or large peanut 
kernels must be of rare occurrence, because the 
writer has yet to hear of a single case, much less 
have one come under his personal observation. An- 
other thing: Grain which goes down the throat 
of the older birds will also pass down the throat of 
the squabs without causing any discomfort. 

Peanuts contain a greater percentage of protein 
than peas. For this reason, and also because of the 
fact that peas have so rapidly advanced in price, 
they are universally being used now as a splendid 
substitute. They cannot be purchased in every 
community, that is true. The author lives in a 
community of nearly one hundred thousand souls 
and has to send away for what he needs. Dealers 
who handle pigeon feeds, liowever, can and will 
18 



quickly supply your needs, and those who are for- 
tunate enough to be in the pigeon business and at 
the same time dwell in or near a peanut raising 
district will of course experience no difficulty in 
getting all they need at a very reasonable price. 

If you have ever been the owner of a canary bird 
you will of course quickly call to mind how vigor- 
ously these little bits of humanity scatter their feed 
about. This is not done with the idea in mind of 
littering up their cage and the floor of the room 
in which their cage hangs. There is a motive in 
this apparent extravagant waste of good seed. They 
are after the hemp seed which is usually found in 
all prepared bird seeds. Hemp is the one delicacy 
that pigeons love above all others. Mix a little of 
it with your feed and you will quickly witness the 
canary bird habit in a very magnified form. The 
balance of your grain will be scattered about the 
floor of your squab house, not to be touched until 
all vestige of hemp has disappeared. Unless you 
are fond of a disorderly looking squab house floor, 
do not mix hemp seed with other grains. Treat it as 
a luxury and a delicacy, for it most assuredly is, 
as it costs from 5 to 6 cents a pound. A good big 
double handful of hemp seed scattered upon the 
floor of your squab house once each day is ample 
for a flock of fifty pairs, and will keep them happy, 
lively and contented. Do not feed your birds an 
excess of hemp seed. It is bad for them. 

The five staple pigeon grains have been men- 
tioned. That is the five which the author feels are 
the staples. Others may disagree with him, and 
probably do. His experimental flock is a marvel 
for beauty, strength and productive qualities, as 
all have had to admit who have seen it. They raise 
squabs which weigh anywhere from 9 pounds to 12 
pounds to the dozen at four weeks of age. They 
are all Homers. Their staple diet has been whole 
corn, Kaffir corn, peas or peanuts, a small amount 
of red w^heat and their daily ration of hemp scat- 
tered upon the floor of their house, and their aver- 
age production has been between 7 and 9 pairs of 
squabs per year for every pair of mated, working 
birds. Many breeders feed from time to time small 
proportions of millet, buckwheat, milo-maize and 
sunflower seed, while certain mixtures of wild seeds 
are used. All have their good qualities, and as they 
offer an excellent opportunity for a change in diet 
they can be used in small quantities if desired. 
Scraps and refuse from the table should never be 

19 



fed to pigeons. A hand full of green stuff such as 
lettuce or grass can occasionally be placed before 
the birds and will be greatly relished by them. 

Pigeons are not possessed of any teeth. A sub- 
stitute is necessary, and grit is that substitute. 
Pigeons demand and must have a certain propor- 
tion of grit if they are to be kept in a healthy and 
vigorous condition. The bottom of your flying pen 
should at all times be thickly covered with gravel 
or sand. A depth of 3 to 4 inches is sufficient. Oc- 
casionally take a rake and thoroughly turn this 
gravel over. After a few months' use the old gravel 
should be entirely removed and replaced with fresh 
gravel. Your birds will at all times have plenty of 
grit if this is done, except in parts of the country 
where snow covers the ground for any great length 
of time during the winter months. If you live in a 
part of the country where snow is pretty general 
throughout the winter months, you can supply your 
birds with ample grit by placing a small box of 
gravel or sand on the floor of the squab house. Do 
not worry about your birds eating too much grit. 
They will only consume what is good for them. 

Salt is very greatly relished by pigeons and they 
will gorge themselves upon it if given the oppor- 
tunity. A little of it is splendid for the birds. It 
is extremely dangerous to feed them too much. 
Granulated or pulverized salt should not be fed to 
them. Rock salt, the kind a horse loves to lick with 
his tongue, is the proper kind of salt to place before 
pigeons. Place a large lump of it out in your fly- 
ing pen. Whenever you empty your bath pan turn 
the contents on top of this piece of salt. Every 
ran storm will naturally diminish its size. The 
gravel under and around it, however, becomes satu- 
rated with the salt water, and if you will take oc- 
casion to notice you will find the gravel in this por- 
tion of your flying pen disappears far more rapidly 
than elsewhere. In the winter time, when your 
flying pen is covered with snow, place a small piece 
of rock salt in the box of gravel in the squab house, 
and occasionally pour a little water over it. The 
same effect will then be gained as if the birds had 
access to the bottom of the flying pen. 

There are many forms of prepared pigeon grit. 
Nearly every dealer in pigeons and pigeon supplies 
has his own mixture of pigeon grit which, very 
naturally, he extensively advertises as the only 
really for sure pigeon grit, the kind that makes 
big, fat squabs. As a matter of fact most of these 
prepared grits are good, and will prove beneficial 
20 



to your birds. Oyster shell is quite an important 
factor in the successful development of pigeons. 
The older birds must have access to a certain 
amount of it or the shells of the eggs which they 
lay will be tough and hard, and the young squabs 
will be unable to force their way through into this 
world. A small box of oyster shell placed in the 
squab house is all that is required, and one hun- 
dred pounds of it will last a good sized flock of birds 
a very long period. Purchase what is generally 
termed the finely ground oyster shell. Pigeon size. 
Not the big coarse pieces. It can be purchased from 
all wide awake pigeon and squab breeders at about 
75 cents to $1.00 per one hundred pounds. You may 
get squabs without the use of oyster shell, but many 
a one just ready to hatch will die in the shell be- 
cause of its inability to break through its tough out- 
er covering. 

You have been told of the various kinds of feed 
good or bad for pigeons. The manner in which they 
are fed is quite as important as the food they get. 
The finest mixture of pigeon grain in the world can 
not only be entirely ruined but made very danger- 
ous to feed to pigeons if handled in a careless and 
slovenly manner. There are two places grain 
should not be placed for the birds to eat. One is 
the floor of the squab house, and the other is out- 
side on the ground in the flying pen. Any great 
quantity of grain carelessly thrown upon the floor 
of the squab house will soon be made absolutely un- 
fit to eat by the continued droppings from the birds 
and from the manure that gathers upon their feet. 
If it be thrown upon the ground in the flying pen 
it will quickly absorb the dampness from the ground, 
becoming sour and again a dangerous food for the 
pigeons to eat. The grain your birds consume must 
at all times be absolutely dry and clean. Ail feed- 
ing should be done inside the squab house, where 
there is not the slightest possibility of any of it 
becoming damp, and as a result turning sour. 

Of course nothing of a disastrous nature would 
occur if a few hands full of feed were scattered 
upon the floor of your house, and it was quickly 
picked up by the pigeons. Hemp seed should al- 
ways be fed this way. What the author desires to 
impress upon the mind of the beginner is that no 
large quantity of feed should be allowed to stand 
where the birds can walk about upon it making it 
filthy ,and unfit for consumption. 

There are two excellent ways of feeding pigeons. 
Many breeders use a small trough which is placed 

21 



in the center of the squab house floor and just 
enough grain placed in it to satisfy the birds for 
that one feeding. A little experimenting on your 
part will soon demonstrate how much feed your 
flock will clean up at any specified time of the day. 
A couple of 4 inch boards fastened together with 
wood cleats on the bottom, and with a small strip 
tacked around the edges affords another excellent 
place in which to feed. The strip about the edges 
of your little platform keeps the birds from scatter- 
ing the grain to any very great extent. Pigeons 
will throw their feed about in a most discouraging 
sort of manner, in an effort to get the portions of 
it which best suits their taste. Feeding in a 
trough or upon a board is the manner in which most 
of those interested in squab culture handle their flock 
when they are in a position to give their birds at- 
tention oftener than once each day. Birds fed in 
this manner generally get grain twice daily. First 
thing in the morning and during the early afternoon. 
Just sufficient grain so there is none left to be 
trampled upon after every bird has gotten his or her 
share. 

The hopper system of feeding is very generally 
used by those operating large squab plants. It saves 
time and those who use it wi?^ of course argue that 
it is the only proper way to feed squab breeding 
pigeons. Their claim always is that pigeons with 
squabs in the nest should have grain before them at 
all times, if big, fat squabs are desired. As has 
been previously stated pigeons as a rule do not over 
eat, so of course there is no danger in adopting 
the hopper system of feeding. There are innumer- 
able appliances in use for feeding in this manner. 
Many of them are very ingenious and of home made 
variety. There are several patented feeders that 
possess splendid features. The idea of the hopper 
system of feeding is to enable one to place a large 
quantity of grain in the squab house, but at the 
same time arrange it so the birds must eat up what 
is in front of them before more puts in an appear- 
ance. A little thought and a few minutes work will 
result in a pretty sensible automatic feeder. 

More sick pigeons come as a direct result of be- 
ing improperly watered than in any other way. 
They positively must at all times, have before them 
plenty of cool, fresh drinking water. The water 
they drink can only be kept clean of course by be- 
ing protected. Pigeons dearly love to get into a 
pan of water and take a bath, and if their drinking 

22 



water is placed before them in an open pan or dish 
it will be made absolutely filthy wit^.iin a few 
minutes by the manure from their feet and from 
their droppings. There are a great many protected 
driiiking fountains made, and there is little choice 
between any of them. They are arranged so that 
fresh water takes the place of that consumed by the 
pigeons. The two accompanying illustrations show 
a galvanized drinking fountain which is for sale by 
nearly all pigeon and squab companies, or can be 
made by any tinner, and also a fountain of home 
made design where a large bottle is used. One 
serves the purpose quite as well as the other. The 
metal fountain with the handle is of course more 
convenient to carry about, and to fill. In extremely 
cold weather, provided you do not provide artificial 
heat in your squab house, your drinking fountains 
should be removed in the late afternoon and placed 
in your house, or some other warm place. If al- 
lowed to remain in the squab house the water in- 
side of them will of course freeze, and may result 
in breaking your fountain. They can be put back 
into the squab house again in the morning at feed- 

DRINKING FOUNTAINS. 




The photographs show two splendid drinking fountains. 
The one with the large bottle is of the home-made variety. 
The second one is made of galvanized iron. The galvanized 
fountain can be purchased from any squab company or poul- 
try house. The cost, as a rule, is about 75 cents each for a 
two gallon fountain. The home made one will serve the pur- 
pose as well, although it is more trouble to fill it. 



23 



ing time. There are several makes of patented 
water fountains that have a small lamp attachment 
which keeps the water from freezing in the coldest 
of weather. These can be used if desired, and can 
be purchased from most poultry supply houses. 

Many large squab plants do both their feeding 
and watering from the passage way at the rear of 
the units. In this case both the front of the hop- 
per feeder and the front of the drinking fountain 
protrude into the unit at the bottom of the wire 
partition wiiich separates the unit from the passage 
way. In this manner both feeding and watering is 
done without entering the unit, and the old birds 
are only disturbed when it becomes necessary to 
clean, or take out the squabs for killing. 

It might be well to add at this point that in many 
plants that have the multiple unit house, with the 
passage way at the rear, the wire partition separat- 
ing this passage way from the various units is 
covered with burlap or other material. This is done 
so that one may pass up and down the passage way 
without unnecessarily disturbing and- frightening 
the birds. 




CHAPTER V, 



CLEANLINESS ESSENTLiL. 



Keep Floor and Nest Boxes Free of Manure — Scald 
Your Drinking" Fountains. 

Your pigeons and the place in which they are kept 
must at all times be kept clean and sanitary. If 
this is not done success is impossible, and failure 
an absolute certainty. Pigeons are not subject to 
lice, mites or any of the numerous parasites which 
are so prevalent among chickens, and given any 
degree of care you need never have fears along this 
line. Pigeons will always be as clean as you will 
permit them to be or as dirty as you force them to 
be. It's always up to you. They are naturally 
very clean and will keep themselves in that condi- 
tion if given the oppqjrtunity. You will seldom 
find pigeon droppings in a newly made nest, nor 
will you find much of it there until the youngsters 
are born, and are a week or ten days old. The 
older birds are very neat about themselves during 
the incubation period, and retain their droppings 
until their turn to leave the nest arrives. They are 
not, however, so particular when it comes to other 
parts of the squab house or the next door neigh- 
bor's nest box. 

Your squab house floor, the nest bowls, the nest 
boxes in fact every place where manure accumu- 
lates, should be thoroughly scraped at least twice 
each month. Once each week is not too often 
if the weather will permit. On extremely cold days 
it is not advisable to disturb your flock by entering 
the squab house for the purpose of cleaning. Wait 
until a warm day if possible. Cleaning in the winter 
time can not, of course, be done with the same de- 
gree of regularity as in the warmer periods of the 
year. 

25 



When you enter your squab house the majority 
of your birds that are sitting on eggs or small 
squabs will, in all probability leave their nests and 
seek a perching place out in the flying pen. Don't 
worry, they will come back as soon as you leave 
the house and continue their household duties. Do 
all your cleaning as promptly as possible, spending 
as little time as possible in the squab house. If the 
weather be extremely cold and you keep those that 
are setting off of their eggs any great length of 
time, the eggs will become chilled and will not 
hatch as a result. 

Scrapers of various designs and sizes are used for 
cleaning both the floor, nest boxes and nest bowls. 
It is much easier to remove pigeon manure which is 
still slightly moist, than it is to remove it after it 
becomes dry and hard. This you will discover to 
your entire satisfaction after having tried both 
ways. The scrapers most generally used for clean- 
ing purposes are illustrated in this book, and can 
be purchased of any squab company, hardware or 
general store, or if you are of a mechanical turn 
of mind one can be fashioned out of ordinary bits 
of sheet iron. 

The author has always used nest bowls in con- 
nection with his own private experimental flock of 
pigeons, for the very simple reason that it un- 
questionably makes the cleaning portion of the 
pigeon industry much more agreeable and not so 
tiresome. If you use nest bowls in connection with 
your nest boxes it is advisable to proceed as follows: 

Some pairs of your pigeons will build a very large 
nest, one that scarcely leaves them room to get in 
and out of the nest box. Others appear to get along 
with but a few bits of nesting material, in fact the 
author has one exceptionally productive pair whose 
nest, when completed to their entire satisfaction, 
generally consists of about two short tobacco stems. 
After the first egg is laid a little additional nesting 
material is placed in the nest bowl of this parti- 
cular pair of birds by hand. This pair never ap- 
pears to object to having others than their imme- 
diate family take part in the nest building, and pro- 
ceed with the laying of the second egg, and the 
hatching of both eggs in due time. 

After the squabs are two weeks of age they 
should be lifted from the nest for a few minutes 
while you empty out all the nesting material in the 
bowl and give it and the nest box a thorough scrap- 
ing and cleaning. Place the cleaned nest bowl ba-^k 
in the nest box and put back into the nest boAl 

26 



the squabs you removed while doing the cleaning. 
At two weeks of age the squabs are sufficiently- 
developed and quite sturdy enough to not longer 
demand any nesting material upon which to sit. 
This is particularly true during the summer months^ 
although putting into the nest bowl a small amount 
of new fresh nesting material after you have 
thoroughly cleaned the nest bowl, during extremely 
cold weather, is not objectionable and assists in 
keeping the youngsters warm and comfortable. If 
you use the earthenware nest bowls you should not 
attempt to act on this suggestion. It can only be 
done with the wood and wood pulp bowls. The earth- 
enware bowls are entirely too cold and damp. 

After you have cleaned your nest bowls as in- 
dicated above, and have placed the squabs back in 
them, you will discover from that time on little if 
any of the youngsters manure in the nest bowl. If 
you observe closely you will notice that before 
venting they will back up to the edge of the bowl 
and deposit their droppings into the nest box around 
the edges of the bowl. A circular pile of manure 
will gradually accumulate and it is a simple and 
easy matter to temporarily remove bowl and 
squabs whenever desired and scrape out this ma- 
nure, which is of course free from all foreign sub- 
stances, and as you will see later on, is quite valu- 
able and well worth saving. 

Your water fountains should be scalded out oc- 
casionally so that they are at all times sweet and 
clean. .The board upon which you feed, or the 
trough in which you feed, or the hopper in which 
you feed must of course always be kept perfectly 
clean. Occassionally stand them out in the sun. In 
fact do all that is necessary tb keep your squab 
house and the things that are in it as clean and 
free from filth as it is possible to do, and in addi- 
tion to this give your birds a bath every day the 
weather permits. This is as a rule done outside in 
the flying pen. You will find many specially ad- 
vertised pigeon bath pans, all of which are good. 
An old dish pan will serve the same purpose if you 
do not wish to invest in the specially prepared ar- 
ticle. Set the pan in the middle of your flying pen, 
fill it with about 4 inches of water, retire from the 
flying pen and in a mighty short period of time all 
the birds in that particular house, who are not in- 
side attending to domestic duties, will be exerting 
every effort possible to either get into the pan of 
water, or stand near the pan's edge and allow those 
in the pan to shower them with the water as it is 

27 



scattered about. Pigeons certainly enjoy taking a 
bath, and as it greatly assists in keeping them free 
from parasites of all kind, they should not be denied 
a bath once each day the weather will permit. In 
extremely cold weather they should not be given a 
bath. Sometimes it is necessary to deny, them this 
pleasure for a number of weeks owing to w^eather 
conditions. They will only make a quicker rush for 
the bath pans when given the opportunity after a 
temporary let up. Bathing your birds is but little 
trouble if the work is done in a systematic manner. 
Fill the pans with water the last thing in the even- 
ing, after the birds have gone inside the squab 
house for the night. It will be there for them 
early in the morning, and by the time you are up 
and about they will have completed the bathing and 
you can enter the flying pen, throw out the dirty 
water still remaining in the bath pans, stand the 
bath pan on edge some place inside the flying pen 
where it will be handy for use again that evening. 



TOOLS FOR CLEANING. 




No. l^Hand scrapei' for cleaning out the nest boxes and 
nest bowls. No. 2 — Floor chisel for sex-aping the floor of a 
squab house. No. 3 — Insect sprayer used for spraying all 
parts of the squab house, nest boxes, nest bowls, etc. No. 4 — 
Galvanized bath pan. Sixteen inches wide. Not more than 4 
Inches high. One pan for evei-y 15 pair of pigeons is recom- 
mended. Nos. 5 and 6 — Nestbowls in nest boxes. 



28 



CHAPTER VI. 



KILLING. 



Various Ways to Do It — Bletdiiig: and Dry Picking 
the Best. 

Squabs are killed when about four weeks old. 
There are several ways of killing squabs prepara- 
tory to sending them to market. In some localities 
their necks are simply broken, their legs tied to- 
gether, and they are shipped in bunches with the 
feathers on. Some buyers of squabs will accept 
them after their necks have been broken and they 
have been scalded by being dipped in hot water and 
the feathers removed. If you sell your squabs to 
persons in your home town it will also no doubt be 
necessary for you to remove their entrails. It is 
essential therefore that you fully advise yourself 
exactly how your customer wants his squabs killed 
and dressed. 

Bleeding and dry picking is the universal man- 
ner in this section of the country in wliich squabs 
are prepared for market. This is done by suspend- 
ing the squab to be killed by his legs, locking back 
the wings, and inserting a sharp knife into the 
mouth of the squab and with an upward cutting 
motion penetrate the brain of the squab. This cuts 
the jugular vein and permits a free and uninter- 
rupted flow of blood. It also loosens the feathers, 
which should be plucked while the squab is still 
hanging and the body yet warm. It is absolutely 
essential that all animal heat be removed from 
the body of the squab no matter in what manner it 
may be killed. If squabs are packed or thrown to- 
gether while yet warm with animal heat, they will 
be ruined. After having bled and plucked a squab, 
if the weather is not excessively hot, it may be al- 
lowed to hang until entirely free of all animal heat, 
or can be thrown into a tub of ice or cool spring 
water. Squabs that you may ship to the larger 

29 



centers have their heads and feet left on, and the 
entrails are not drawn. 

There are several ways of breaking a squab's 
neck. Wringing its neck is frequently done, but care 
must be exercised in doing this or the head will be 
wrung from the body. If you take the neck of the 
squab between the thumbs and first fingers of both 
hands you can easily break a squab's neck by a 
slight pressing and pulling motion, which causes in- 
stant death. Some, use a machine for killing. A 
very simple arrangement which can be put to- 
gether in a few minutes. 



KILLING MACHINE 




It consists of two small pieces of board about one 
inch thick, two inches wide, one being eighteen 
inches long, the other about 14 inches long. Round 
off one of the edges of each piece. These two 
pieces are fastened together at the end by a small 
strap hinge as indicated in the accompanying pic- 
ture. Nail the lower strip to the side of a box. 
The upper strip acts as a lever. Two small strips 
at the unhinged end act as guides for the lever. 
Place the neck of the squab on the lower piece of 
wood and press down the upper piece, not too 
severely. The neck of the squab will be broken 
instantly. The two pieces of wood are rounded off 
on the contact sides in order to prevent cutting 
the flesh on the squab's neck. 



30 



After you have killed a squab in this manner it is 
best to pluck it at once, if it is to be plucked, and 
then get the animal heat out of the body by either 
allowing it to hang suspended over night or by 
tossing it into cold water to remain until thoroughly 
cooled. Care should be used not to allow squabs that 
are being cooled to remain any place where they 
may be reached by cats or rats. 

The killing and preparing of squabs for market 
is not a difficult or repulsive operation, and with a 
little practice and the adoption of some well regu- 
lated system, becomes but a small part of the squab 
industry. In large plants where many squabs are 
killed women or boys are employed to assist with 
the plucking. 




31 



CHAPTER VII. 



BANDING. 



How It Is Done and What It Is Done IVitli. 

In order to know at all times the exact number of 
squabs each pair of your breeders is producing it is 
essential that you keep a record of the activities of 
each pair. This information can not be carried in 
one's head. It is well to know at all times just 
what every pair of birds you have is doing. A pair 
of birds that are producing but few squabs will eat 
as much as a pair that is keeping well up 
to the average. They will take up the room 
which could be given to a productive pair. You 
wish to know these facts, and there is but one way 
to arrive at them. Every pair of birds in your squab 
house should be banded on the leg with a number 
band. If you have fifty pairs of breeders in one 
house then the numbers should start with one and 
end with fifty. The cock bird should be banded on 
the right leg and the hen on the left leg. There are 
a great many kinds and makes of pigeon leg bands. 
There are several which are called the double num- 
ber band. These are an aluminum band whicli comes 
to you in a flat condition, but which you shape by 
folding around a pencil or small piece of wood 
about the size of a pencil. They are easily placed 
upon the legs of the pigeon, and as each band has 
the same number on it in two different places, and 
the numbers are of a good size, it is an easy mat- 
ter to read them at quite a distance. Pigeons that 
you purchase from reputable squab and pigeon 
companies will come to you already banded. The 
bands are not as a rule, however, of the double or 
single variety. They are simply a small aluminum 
band which is placed on the birds to enable you to 
tell the cocks from the hens when you receive them. 
They are amply good for that purpose, but for the 
purpose of keeping records of your birds are of lit- 
tle value, as it is necessary to catch the actual 

32 



bird and examine the small number on the band. 
This takes a vast amount of time, and in addition 
to that keeps your flock in a very wild state. It is 
poor policy to be continually catching your pigeons. 

The double or single number bands are not ex- 
pensive, and a sufficient number to band 50 pairs 
can be purchased from almost any squab or pigeon 
company for about $1.25. Having your birds all 
properly banded it is then necessary that you have 
fifty small cards, one for each pair. Keep these 
cards at some convenient place in the squab house. 
Put the pair number at the top of the card. When 
the second egg has been laid give that particular 
pair credit for two eggs on the card. Mark down 
the date laid. Seventeen days from that date the 
squabs should be putting in an appearance. Make 
a note of whether one or both eggs hatched on the 
card. If you care to make a note of what disposi- 
tion you made of the squabs later on, put that on 
the card also. In fact write on the card anything 
pertaining to that particular pair of birds which 
may come to your notice. If you do this in six 
months' time you will know exactly what may be 
expected of every pair of birds in your house, and 
if there be any poor workers their shortcomings 
will have evidenced themselves amply by that time. 

If you are going to save any of your young birds 
it is of course very essential that you know who 
their father and mother was. There are squab 
bands as well as bands for the old birds. You can 
purchase small numbered bands if you wish, but 
the author has used exclusively in banding his 
youngsters, and recommonds what is generally 
termed the flat blank or open aluminum band. In 
connection with the use of these bands it is neces- 
sary for you to have a set of steel dies with num- 
bers on them from 1 to 0. These dies can be pur- 
chased at any hardware store, or from squab and 
pigeon companies. AVe will say, for example, you 
have a pair of youngsters about 4 weeks old out of 
a pair of old birds that have proved wonderfully 
hard working pigeons, and realizing, as you will, 
that like begets like, you wish to save that pair of 
squabs. The old pair of birds, are, we will say, No. 
28. Take two of the open V-shaped blank flat 
bands and place them on a smooth surface. At the 
extreme left end of the band stamp the number 
"28." That indicates the pair from which the 
squabs were raised. The youngsters, we will say, 
were born in February. In the middle of the band 
stamp the number "2." That indicates the number 

33 



of the month in the year in which the pair were 
born. At the extreme right end of the band stamp 
"16" if that happened to be the year in which they 
were born. 

Your band would then read "28 2 16." Shape the 
band into a ring by using a round pencil, and then 
re-open it sufficiently to admit of it being slipped 
about the leg to the squab, after which, of course, 
it should be pressed together again. In about 5 
months from the time these young birds have been 
placed in the rearing pen they will begin to mate 
up with others of opposite sex in the same pen. 
When you find a pair mated you can catch them 
and by an examination of their bands you will know 
exactly from what old pairs they came and the 
month and year of their birth. You can then remove 
the small bands and replace them with the double 
number bands, provided of course they are mated up 
to suit your wishes. You will then give them a 
regular pair number and on their card you will 
put the information about their parentage and 
month and year of birth. In this manner you will 
have a complete card index of every bird in your 
house, and can absolutely prevent any inbreeding, 
a subject which is dealt with further along in this 
volume. 

You no doubt will from time to time run across 
persons who will tell you that banding your flock 
is all foolishness, a waste of time, and that just as 
good results can be obtained without bothering 
about banding. The author absolutely disagrees 
with any one making such a statement, unless of 
course the flock be limited to a few pairs of dif- 
ferent plumage, and no effort is made to increase 
the number of birds. With flocks of any size, how- 
ever, banding is the only manner in which you can 
keep an accurate record of what each pair is doing 
By the use of bands you can mighty quickly tell 
whether you have a pair of birds who are not worth 
the grain they consume, and can get rid of them. 



DOUBLE NUMBER LEG BANDS. 




CHAPTER Vlir. 



THE EEARIXG PEX. 



How to Arrange It — IVlieii to Wean the Young. 

If it is your intention to raise some of your young 
birds witli the idea of adding to your flock, or of 
selling them when they reach adult age, it is neces- 
sary that you have a separate pen in which to 
place them when they have reached the weaning 
age. The rearing pen should be equipped In every 
particular just as is your breeding pen. As your 
youngsters grow they will become familiar with the 
general arrangement of nest boxes, drinking foun- 
tain and feeder, and when later on removed to the 
breeding pen there is little delay in their going to 
work. You will understand, of course, that it is 
not absolutely necessary that rearing pen and 
breeding pen be exactly alike in every particular, 
but simply that it is better if such an arrangement 
can be made. If you construct your own house, you 
can make it of two units, one for breeders and one 
for young stock, with but little more expense than 
is necessary to construct a single unit. The author's 
first rearing pen was a small portion of an old barn 
loft, and he had excellent success with it, but since 
building a modern unit house, in which every unit 
is exactly alike, he finds the young birds go more 
promptly to work after they have been mated up in 
the rearing pen and are for the first time released 
among the older birds. 

Young birds should not be left among the old 
birds in your breeding pen any great length of 
time. Between six and seven weeks of age is a good 
time to remove them and put them in the rearing 
pen among the other young birds. They have by 
that time learned to hustle for themselves and will 
get along all right. At five weeks of age, you will 
frequently find the old cock bird still willing to 
give them an occasional meal, and as long as this 
is the case it is best for them to remain among the 

35 



old birds. They will get many a peck from the 
older birds as soon as they leave their nest, which 
is at about the age of five weeks. You will find 
them aimlessly wandering about the floor of your 
squab house, apparently getting in every other 
pigeon's way, and in place of increasing in size ap- 
parently getting smaller. Squabs for market are, 
as has been previously stated, killed at the age of 
about four weeks, just before they leave their nest. 
Frequently at this time of their existence, they are 
larger than their father or mother. For four weeks 
they have sat quietly in their nest with their crops 
bulging with grain, and their little bodies have be- 
come plump and round. This condition rapidly 
changes when they leave the nest. The parei^'^t 
birds will, in all probability, have another nest with 
eggs in it by this time, and they give but little at- 
tention to the young birds. The cock bird appar- 
ently does not so soon forget his off-spring as the 
hen, and he will from time to time feed them. His 
fatherly administrations begin to dwindle toward 
the end of the fifth week and the young pigeon 
must then hustle for himself, and in so doing he 
meets with many rebuffs from the older pigeons, 
just as it is among human beings. He grows thin 
and rangy looking, as a consequence, and does not 
become a thoroughly roundad out pigeon again, 
until he has mastered the art of getting his share 
of grain, grit, water, etc. 

As a general rule young pigeons will begin ta 
mate up with one another, at between the ages of 
five and six months. Some will start sooner, but 
not many. They are somewhat awkward, as well 
as slow about the building of their first nest, and 
the laying of the first setting of eggs, and in a great 
many cases either one or both of the first eggs will 
prove infertile. It has been found advisable, to 
allow a young pair to hatch, and raise their first 
setting of eggs before they are removed to the 
breeding pen. They have more confidence in them- 
selves by that time, and will apparently get off with 
a better start, when first released with the older 
birds. It may be necessary to destroy a setting of 
their eggs, when they are removed, but if they are 
the right kind of birds, and have had the proper 
kind of attention, they will in all probability have 
another set of eggs in their new home within 10 
days or two weeks. Some times you will have a 
nest in your breeding pen in which there may be 
one egg, caused by some accident, and if it has b«en 
laid within a day or two of the time the eggs of the 
36 



young were laid, you can put one of the eggs of the 
young pair in this nest, and thus save losing at least 
one of the eggs. Of course, if you can find places 
for both eggs, save them. Pigeons make no objec- 
tion to having additional eggs put in their nest, and 
will continue setting quite the same as if nothing 
had happened. You can switch your eggs about 
as much as you please, provided of course, the eggs 
you put under one pair of birds were both laid 
within a day or two of each other. Also, you should 
not place a pair of eggs which have but recently 
been laid, under a pair who have been setting for 
a week or ten days. A few days one way or the 
other, will make little difference, but after a pair 
has been setting the necessary 17 days, and they 
find their eggs are not hatching, they are very apt 
and generally do, desert them and start building 
elsewhere. 

Sometimes it becomes necessary, rather than to 
destroy an odd egg, to place it in a nest where 
there are already two eggs, making a total of 
three. This can also be done, and there is little 
doubt, but that the pair in whose nest you have 
placed the three eggs, \yill go right along taking 
good care of them. If the three eggs hatch, and 
you have another nest in your squab house, with 
but a single squab in it of about the same size, 
take one of the three and put it in the nest with 
the single squab. Neither of the pairs of old birds 
will complain about the decrease or addition to their 
respective families, and you will get better results 
than if you burden one pair with three youngsters 
to feed and look after. The author has experi- 
mented by placing four squabs in one nest. The 
old birds will do the best they can with such a 
large and unusual family, but it is both hard on 
the old birds and the squabs, and should not be at- 
tempted unless necessity absolutely demands. In 
case of the death of a pair of old birds with squabs, 
through some unlooked for happening, it sometimes 
might become necessary. 



37 



CHAPTER IX. 



HOW TO TELL THE SEX. 



It Can't Be Done By Examination— Only By Obser- 
yation. 

You cannot tell the sex of pigeons by catching 
them, and making an examination of their bodies. 
You might do so if you killed the pigeon and cut 
it open, but it can't be done by any outside obser- 
vation. There are, however, numerous ways in 
which you can tell the cock bird from the hen bird, 
but they must all be done by observation. It is 
true that the bones at the vent of a female pigeon 
are wider apart than they are on the male, but if 
you should happen to catch two females one after 
the other, or two males one after the other, for 
examination this bit of informaion would prove of 
no avail. If you knew for a certainty, that one 
bird was a hen and the other a cock, this bit of 
information could only be used to prove what you 
already know. Birds which you purchase from 
squab and pigeon companies, will in almost every 
instance come to you properly banded, cocks with 
bands on the right legs, and hens with bands on the 
left legs. There is therefore no necessity for you 
to worry yourself about the sex of your first lot of 
old birds. It might well be said here in passing, 
however, that it is a good thing for you when pur- 
chasing pigeons from dealers, to absolutely demand 
that they are both banded and mated. You would 
hardly have to ask this of reputable concerns, but 
like every other business, the one of selling pigeons 
has its generous number of unscrupulous dealers. 
When your young pigeons begin to mate up with 
one another, watch them carefully whenever you 
have the spare time. If you do you will witness 
a number of things, which will quickly tell you 
the cock bird from the hen. About the first thing 
you will witness is the process termed billing. One 

38 



of the birds will take the bill of the other one in- 
side its bill and the two of them will go through 
a sort of pumping process, very similar in every 
respect to the motions you see when the older 
birds feed their squabs. The bird that has its bill 
inside the bill of the other is almost invariably the 
hen. The other pigeon must, therefore, of neces- 
sity be the cock. Occasionally, but not often, two 
cocks will temporarily decide to make a fruitless 
effort at mating. In that case you could tell noth- 
ing about the sex by witnessing them billing. Such 
occurrences are not frequent, however, and as a 
general thing, the above rule holds good. 

As a general rule, treading immediately follows 
billing. It is presumed that the cock will tread 
the hen, and not the hen the cock, but such is not 
always the case. The cock as a rule treads the 
hen first. Generally that ends the treading, but 
not always. The hen will sometimes tread tlhe 
cock in turn. If you have witnessed the billing 
you can with a great amount of certainty pick the 
cock bird, as he is generally the first to tread. 

A cock bird as a rule does a vast amount of coo- 
ing and strutting about the loft, and when making 
advances to a hen pigeon, will drag his tail about on 
the floor, ruffle up his neck feathers, and turn round 
and round in an effort to attract the hen's attention 
to his many superior qualities. A hen pigeon will 
strut about and coo a bit at times, bui does not find 
it necessary to turn around in a circle several 
times in order to attract attention. She seldom 
goes more than half way around. 

It is a mighty easy matter to tell a cock pigeon 
from a hen pigeon, after the first set of eggs have 
been laid, and have been in the nest a couple or 
three days. When y|ou enter your squab house 
early in the morning, the pigeon that is sitting on 
the nest at that time is the hen. Her time for 
sitting on the eggs is not up until about 10 o'clock 
in the morning, and unless she has been frightened 
off when you enter the squab house, or by some one 
else before you entered, she will be right where 
she belongs. Catch her and band her on the left 
leg. The other pigeon of that pair is of course the 
cock. 

It has been said that the surest way to tell the sex 
of young birds, or for that matter old ones too, is to 
watch them when they are driving one another 
around the squab house or loft. The one being driven 

39 



about is the hen, and the one doing the driving is 
the cock. As a general rule this holds absolutely 
true, but there are sometimes drivings going on in 
your pens that tax your patience, to say nothing 
of confusing you, especially a beginner. Sometimes 
two cock birds will decide to mate up with the 
same hen, and they will both proceed to make her 
life somewhat miserable by driving her about. 
That's possibly not so bad, for you can catch one 
of the cocks, and remove him from the pen for a 
few days, until he has changed his mind. Two 
cocks will sometimes, however, take a sudden and 
unexpected liking for each other, and go gala- 
vanting around the squab house and flying pen, 
even going so far as to build a nest and sit in it' 
Lots of good it does- them, for of course, no eggs 
put in an appearance. 

When the author first started in the pigeon busi- 
ness, he had unloaded upon him just such a pair 
of birds. They billed, they treaded, they built nests 
and they industriously sat in them, but as the 
small boy says, "there was nothing doing." This 
kept up for several months until one day a gentle- 
man visited the loft and his attention was called 
to this particular pair of birds. He was an ex- 
perienced pigeon fancier and immediately surmised 
the difficulty. As a result of his visit, the two 
birds were taken from the loft and each one placed 
in a mating coop with a young female. They both 
mated up in a few days, with the hens which had 
been provided for them, and when put back into the 
loft began life all over again, but each with a dif- 
ferent partner, and they billed, and they treaded 
and they built nests, each in companv with his new 
mate, and best of all both of the pairs had eggs 
and raised squabs. So you see there is an excep- 
tion to the rule about being able to tell the sex 
from watching the birds drive. 

Little can be told about the sex of pigeons by 
witnessing any fights among them in your squab 
house The cocks as a rule get into more arguments 
"3^!' ^!l ^^}^ ^^^"s. A beginner may experience some 
ditticulty in applying all of the above general rules 
but within a short time he should and will be able 
to tell the cocks from the hens, by watching them 
but a minute or two when they are active about 
the squab house or flying pen.. 



40 



CHAPTER X. 



PIGEOJf PECULIARITIES. 



Many Valuble Points About Tlieir Habits. 

You will find as you go along in the pigeon busi- 
ness there are many things you can do with your 
birds, which at first will appear out of the ques- 
tion, and foolish to attempt. Pigeons once mated 
to one another, will remain so indefinitely, if they 
are left together in the same pen. The hen takes 
unto herself a cock and the cock takes unto himself 
a hen, and that ends it, unless human beings decide 
to interfere. Two or three roosters is sufficient for 
a small flock of chickens. In raising pigeons, how- 
ever, you must have one cock for every hen. An 
excess of cocks or an excess of hens in your breed-* 
ing pen will cause you no end of trouble and ex- 
pense. Particularly is this true of extra cocks. 
One or two odd cocks in a pen of working pigeons 
will be continually fighting with cocks already 
mated in an effort to steal that particular cock's 
hen. Nests will be destroyed, nest bowls upset, eggs 
knocked out upon the floor and broken and many a 
young squab but recently born will be trampled to 
death. Enough squabbling occasionally takes place 
among evenly mated pairs without adding to the 
difficulty by having any odd birds to join in. Keep 
nothing but evenly mated pairs of birds in your 
breeding pen. The youngsters you may be saving, 
and who are only 5 or 6 weeks old, will not cause 
any trouble among the older birds, except to take 
up room and apparently get in every other bird's 
way. You will be removing them soon, however. 

Suppose you possess a fine pair of Homers or 
Carneaux and you are particularly anxious to get 
as many of their young in one year as it is possible 
to raise. The average number of squabs raised in 
one year by a working pair of good Homers or Car- 
neaux is somewhere between seven and nine pairs. 

41 



You can increase this number by a little manipula- 
tion of the eggs of any particular pair. Having de- 
cided upon the pair from which you desire to raise 
as many squabs as possible, wait the time until the 
second egg of. any particular setting has been laid. 
Look up your cards and find another pair of birds 
who have laid their second egg within a day or two 
of the same time. Take these two eggs and destroy 
them. Take the two eggs from the nest of the pair 
you are anxious to raise the additional squabs from, 
and put them in the nest where the eggs were which 
you have destroyed. In due time they will of course 
be hatched out by their foster parents. The fine 
pair of birds will lay two more eggs within the next 
ten days or two weeks. Go through exactly the 
same process again, taking their eggs away from 
them and placing them under some other pair. In 




No. 1 —Eggs in nest. 

No, 2— Squabs just born. 

No. 3— Squabs two weeks old. 

No. 4— Squabs three weeks old. 

No. 5— Squabs four weeks old. 
Ready to kill. 



42 



ten days to two weeks your fine pair will again lay 
two eggs. Allow them to sit upon and hatch out 
this third setting of eggs and raise the squabs to 
weaning age. As soon as another setting of eggs 
has been laid you can again begin your process of 
removing the eggs and placing them elsewhere. Al- 
low them to sit on every third setting of eggs, if 
you do not they might become discouraged and stop 
laying entirely for a time. Anyhow they are en- 
titled to occasionally enjoy the pleasures of mother- 
hood and fatherhood. 

You may not find it necessary every time to de- 
stroy two eggs of some other pair in order to ac- 
commodate the change you contemplate. Possibly 
from time to time you can find a pair of birds in 
your squab house with only one egg in the nest, 
and provided this egg was laid within a day or two 
of the time the eggs you contemplate destroying 
were laid you can place an additional one in that 
nest. Birds that have only one egg make no 
objection whatever to having an additional 
egg put in their nest. As a matter of fact 
they will go right on with their setting if they re- 
turn to their nest and find two additional eggs, 
three in all. If all three eggs hatch they will do 
their best to raise the large and unusual family. 
Through unlocked for mishaps the author has had 
as many as four small squabs in one pair's nest at 
the same time. 

You can exchange eggs from one pair to another 
just as much as you please provided always, of 
course, that all eggs so exchanged have all been 
laid within one or two days of each other. It is 
hardly fair to put two newly laid eggs under a pair 
of birds that have been sitting, we will say, for two 
weeks, and expect them to go ahead and sit all the 
additional time which would be required for them to 
hatch out the new eggs. They, in all probability, 
wouldn't do it anyhow and would probably become 
discouraged and desert the nest and its eggs. If 
eggs upon which a pair of birds have sat for the 
necessary 17 days do not hatch within a day or two 
of the proper time, instinct seems to tell the 
pigeons that the eggs are infertile and they soon 
desert them. Something about infertile eggs is 
told you later on in this volume. 

Frequently you will find that one of the squabs 
in a nest is apparently not making the progress 
the other is. He is being cheated out of his propor- 
tion of the food furnished by his father and mother. 
His nest mate is in all probahility a little the 
43 



stronger squab of the two and crowds the weaker 
squab to one side when the older birds fly to the 
nest to feed. You cannot, however, lay the blame 
upon the apparently stronger squab in every case 
of this kind. The older birds will sometimes, for 
some absolutely unaccountable reason, show^ parti- 
ality themselves, and feed one squab more than 
they do the other. When you discover a condition 
of this kind hunt around your squab house a bit 
and see if you can't make a change of some kind. 
Possibly you will find a nest with but one squab 
in it and that squab the same size as one of those 
in the nest where your trouble exists. Place in 
the nest with the single squab the squab from the 
other nest which nearest equals his size. Again you 
may discover another nest in which there are two 
squabs, one of which is apparently getting the best 
of the feeding argument. Make a change here by 
placing the two small squabs in one nest and the 
two larger ones in the other nest. 

You can switch squabs about with as much cer- 
tainty as you can eggs. The older birds seem to care 
little about the new make-up of their family, and 
will generally go right ahead just as if nothing had 
been done to their original household arrangements. 
This information is of great value to any beginner, 
and if ^he is familiar with these facts at the begin- 
ning, he will save many an egg and squab which 
would ordinarily be lost. 

Here is another piece of very valuable informa- 
tion: The first egg laid by a pair of pigeons gen- 
erally contains the germ which when incubated the 
necessary seventeen days will turn out to be a male 
squab. The second egg generally turns out a fe- 
male squab. It must not be assumed that this rule 
holds absolutely true and that every pair of eggs 
laid will result in one male and one female, nor 
that the first egg laid is always the egg in which 
the male will develop. In about every seven 
cases out of ten, however, the first egg will contain 
the male squab and the second the female. Also 
as a general rule, whether they come in the order 
named or not, one of the squabs is a male and the 
other a female. Sometimes both squabs will prove 
to be males and sometimes both females, but not 
as a rule and generally they are of opposite sex. 

The information about the first egg containing 
the male squab is of great value if it is desired to 
raise more hens than cock pigeons or more cock 
pigeons than hen pigeons. You do this in this man- 

44 



ner. We will assume you are anxious to raise a 
surplus number of hens. As the first eggs are laid 
in the various nests mark them in some manner 
with a pencil. The second eggs will appear after 
an interval of one day. Put two of the eggs you have 
marked with the pencil in one nest and two of the 
eggs which are unmarked, which will be the second 
eggs laid, in another nest. Be sure and note the 
changes on your record cards so you can kill and 
sell the two supposed cocks and save the two sup- 
posed hens when they reach killing age. It is sim- 
ple and very easily done and will very greatly in- 
crease the number of hens or cocks as desired. 

From what has been said regarding the moving 
of eggs and squabs, one should not gather the im- 
pression that you can move the nest and eggs, or 
the nest and squabs, of any particular pair of birds,, 
about the squab house and expect the old birds to 
continue to look after this nest and its contents no 
matter where you place it. Such a thing cannot 
be done. You can change their eggs and change 
their squabs apparently as much as you like, but 
you cannot change the location of their nest and 
expect them to follow it. 

Occasionally you will run across a pair of birds 
that will greatly tax your patience by building their 
nest upon the floor or upon the top of the nest 
boxes, in place of in them, in fact most any place 
other than in the boxes you have provided for nest- 
ing purposes. This will frequently occur even 
though your squab house has been provided with a 
surplus of nest boxes. It is impossible to com- 
pletely satisfy the demands of some pigeons. It is 
not an unusual thing to find a pair of birds who 
will insist upon laying their second setting of eggs 
right in the same nest box with their squabs, who 
are probably not more than two to three weeks of 
age. With young squabs in the nest the old birds 
are not given mu?h opportunity to carry additional 
nesting material into this nest. What little they do 
carry is generally thrown out upon the floor by 
the squabs. You cannot possibly provide against 
such contingencies as this. 

An occasional nest upon the floor of your house 
or upon the top of your nest boxes is not objection- 
able, and rather than run the risk of losing the 
eggs, nests of this kind had best be left alone. You 
can clean up that particular spot pretty thoroughly 
after the squabs have been removed or killed, and 
no serious harm will have resulted from the trans- 
action. 

45 



In case a pair of birds lay eggs in the same nest 
with the squabs it is of course best to change this 
situation if possible. The eggs might hatch, or 
they might get crushed by the squabs which is far 
more of a certainty. A good plan is this. If there 
be an empty nest to the right or left of the nest in 
which the eggs have been laid with the squabs, put 
the squabs in that nest. They will be close enough 
to the old birds so they can hear their cries for 
food, and they will take just as good care of them 
as before. 

Pigeons appear to have quite a habit of doing 
just the opposite at times from what you expect 
them to do. As a rule, after having built their 
first nest in a squab house a pair is very apt, from 
that time forward, to build all of their nests in 
nest boxes within a few feet of the point where 
they built their first nest. This rule is subject to 
change upon the part of the birds without notice. 
They may suddenly decide to build a nest in en- 
tirely another section of the squab house. This 
may prove only a temporary move, and for a year 
thereafter they may build quite close to the origin- 
al nest box, in fact in it as often as possible. 

Some breeders advocate the use of double nest 
boxes in order to overcome this habit of the birds, 
and also the occasional habit they have of laying 
eggs in with their squabs. A double nest box is 
nothing more than a nest box which is twice as 
wide as the single box, and has no partition in the 
middle. An orange crate with the center partition 
knocked out would be a double nest box. It is 
argued that by using this style box there is ample 
room at all times for two nest bowls in the same 
box, if you happen to use, nest bowls, and of 
course always room for two nests. The birds in 
this case would naturally have room for squabs in 
one side of the box and eggs in the other. The 
plan no doubt has some merit, and no possible ob- 
jection can be offered to its use. If you can get 
your birds to feel the same way as you do about it, 
it is all right. The author's experiments along this 
line were not particularly satisfactory. The pigeons 
still nested exactly where it suited them. Theo- 
retically it is an excellent idea, but practically it 
•does not result in much improvement. You cannot 
make pigeons occupy a nest box for which in its 
own mind it has some slight, possibly only tem- 
porary, dislike. 

Pigeon eggs are not sold by the dozen as Is the 
case with chicken eggs. Squab and pigeon com- 
46 



panics frequently receive letters from persons un- 
familiar with this fact who ask for prices on 
pigeon eggs. Pigeons only sit upon eggs they have 
laid, or think they have laid themselves. You can- 
not take a pair of pigeons who temporarily for one 
reason or another have no eggs, put two eggs in any 
certain nest, and either by force or persuasion com- 
pel that pair of pigeons to sit on them. There is 
one thing right along this line, however, which 
you can do, and it might be to your advantage to 
know it. Occasionally, not often, however, you may 
run across a pair of pigeons who will do everything 
really industrous pigeons should do except that the 
hen pigeon will not lay any eggs. In this case it 
is a pretty sure thing that the hen pigeon is what 
is termed barren. She probably never will lay any 
eggs. A pair of pigeons of this character will gen- 
erally build a very presentable sort of a nest, and 
the hen will spend much time sitting upon it. When 
they have reached this stage of their domestic re- 
lations you can, if you wish, take two eggs from 
some other nest and place them in the nest of this 
pair. They will generally welcome the arrival of 
the eggs, and show their true appreciation by sit- 
ting on them just as diligently as if they were 
their own. The author has read of cases, although 
he has never experienced the occurrence himself, 
where an apparently barren hen has bsen put on an 
egg producing basis by putting but one egg under 
her. It seems that such an act is presumed to get 
her mind on what is expected, and that within 48 
hours she will lay another egg. Most writers 
about pigeons seem to agree that egg laying is a 
sort of mental process upon the part of the hen 
pigeon. It is very true she will not lay until she 
gets good and ready, and has everything arranged 
to suit her. The prompt arrival of the second egg 
is good evidence of this fact. It is a very rare 
occurrence to find an egg in the crate in which 
pigeons have been shipped, even a very long dis- 
tance, and yet undoubtedly many of the hen pigeons 
in the shipment had thoughts of laying when 
started on their trip. 

If at any time you purchase a number of pairs 
of pigeons from some responsible dealer who has 
guaranteed to send you mated pairs, you must not 
have a feeling of antagonism toward that person 
if after your receive your birds and they have been 
released in your squab house, you find them mating 
up differently from what they should according to 
their band numbers. A few pairs of pigeons ship- 
47 



ped all together in the same coop would in all 
probability reach their point of destination still 
mated as they were when shipped. In large ship- 
ments, however, it is customary to divide the cocks 
from the hens, placing so many of each in certain 
coops, and marking the coops in such manner as 
to indicate to you upon their receipt which coop 
of cocks goes with a certain coop of hens. Some 
breaking up in matings is positively bound to oc- 
cur. For this reason the author suggests in the 
purchase of pigeons for squab hreeding purposes, 
that the purchaser of course demand that all birds 
shall be properly mated and banded when shipped 
to him. but that no number bands be placed on any 
of the birds except the cocks. With an even num- 
ber of hens and cocks a few changes in mates is 
of no consequence, and as rapidly as a pair build 
and lay eggs the hen can be caught and a number 
band corresponding to that of her mate be put on 
her leg. The bands to be used for the hens can 
be sent you by mail. The bands referred to here 
are of course what is styled the double or single 
number colored aluminum bands spoken of prev- 
iously. Few dealers furnish these bands with their 
birds without extra cost. If you do not specify 
and pay the additional amount for colored number- 
ed bands your birds will come to you with the 
small aluminum open bands on their legs. They 
are all right for telling the sex of pigeons, but of 
little use if you contemplate keeping a record of 
your flock. You can stamp numbers on them, but 
they cannot be seen without catching the bird. 

iSolid colored birds are not particularly well 
adapted for squab raising purposes. This may ap- 
pear peculiar to a beginner but it is nevertheless 
true. This statement applies more particularly to 
the Homer than to the Carneau. If you desire to 
own a few pairs of solid colored Homers just be- 
cause of the beauty of the birds, well and good, 
but do not expect either many or large squabs. If 
you do you will be disappointed. Size has been 
sacrificed for color in the breeding of solid colored 
birds. Some of the liomliest colored hvMs the 
author has ever seen or possessed, proved by far the 
best squab breeders, while quite the reverse was 
true of birds with strikingly handsome plumage 
of but one color. If you are in the squab business 
for profit, it is results you are after. You want 
squabs which will weigh 9 pounds and over to the 
dozen. The person to whom you sell your product 
direct, or the firm to whom you ship will care 
48 



nothing about the color of the squabs feathers, or 
whether its parents were solid colored pigeons or 
largely resembled a piece of coal with a sprinkling 
of snow. He will demand that the squabs be white 
meated, plump and tender. The meat on a squab 
from a snow white pigeon is no whiter than is 
that on a squab from a variegated colored bird. 

Occasionally you may run across what is termed 
a dark meated squab. The fault lies with the old 
birds. There is bad blood in them, and it is best 
to get rid of the pair immediately. The ordinary 
barn loft, or common pigeon, is largely given to the 
production of dark skinned squabs. Squabs of this 
character are bought, but at a very low price. If 
you purchase your breeding stock from reputable 
concerns you will not be bothered with many dark 
skinned squabs. If one should put in an appear- 
ance you will be able to tell it promptly without 
further advice on the subject. 

Pigeons as a rule are a hardy lot. Beginners 
are very skeptical regarding the ability of a newly 
born pair of squabs to live. It is true they do not 
convey to one a sense of great recuperative power 
the first day they break forth from their shell. 
The slightest touch of a human hand would ap- 
parently put an immediate end to their earthly 
career. And yet such is far from the truth. They 
are mighty sturdy little bits of flesh and bone, and 
are apparently able to put up with much handling 
and rough usage. It is true if they are left un- 
protected in a nest just after their advent into this 
vv^orld, and the day be a blustery and cold one, 
they will eventually freeze. But they are not left 
that way. For the first few days of their existence 
the parent birds sit upon them quite as attentively 
as they did upon the eggs. In cold weather the old 
birds keep the youngsters warm and comfortable 
by nestling over them almost continuously, or at 
least until they are well feathered out, and have 
sufficient strength to resist the cold themselves. 

Breeders successfully operate large squab plants 
in parts of the country where the thermometer 
gets many degrees below the zero point. Again 
the hottest sections of the country apparently have 
no effect upon the breeding proclivities of pigeons. 
In extremely cold climates better results can no 
doubt be secured in the winter time by slightly 
heating the squab house. The author lives in a 
climate where the mercury drops down to zero for 
certain periods of time during the winter months. 
He has experimented with heated squab houses 

49 



and with unheated squab houses, and can't say- 
there is much in favor of one over the other. A 
heated squab house helps some, but it is doubtful 
whether the number of squabs that might have 
frozen had the house not been heated, will pay for 
the coal, oil or gas consumed in the heating. 
Squabs can be successfully raised in any kind of 
a climate, and if you can afford to heat your squab 
house enough to take off a little of the chill in 
terribly cold weather your net results would be 
better. Whether they would pay the heating bill, 
is another question. If you have a squab house free 
from drafts and dampness, you have done your part, 
and the birds will do theirs. 

The molting season for pigeons is in the fall. 
Along about September some of the birds begin to 
shed their old feathers. Not all pigeons molt at 
the same time. While some begin in September, 
others do not start until October, and some do not 
finish their molting until November. All your 
flock will not molt at the same time. During' the 
time pigeons are molting eggs are not as plentiful, 
and you must anticipate a slight falling off in your 
product during those few months. The arrange- 
ment, however, is far from an unsatisfactory one. 
The prices being paid for squabs during September 
and October is never as high as it is two months 
later. After pigeons have passed through theiV 
molt and have their new coat of feathers, they 
apparently take on renewed activity, and are back 
at their maximum capacity just at the time when 
squab prices are advancing. A really satisfactory 
condition of affairs. 

Pigeons when molting sit around a good deal, 
and show but little interest in life. A little change 
in their diet. A little more hemp. A little tonic in 
their drinking water, such as a tablespoon full of 
common household vinegar, three or four times a 
week, helps them wonderfully. Use common sense, 
that's all. If you were feeling kind of dumpy and 
out of sorts you would be demanding a change in 
your diet. Pigeons confined within the four walls 
of a squab house and flying pen are unable to get 
for themselves the things which nature may have 
provided on the outside. You must be the one to 
furnish them. 

A point to keep in mind at all times is this- 
Never have more than an even number of pairs of 
birds in your squab house. No odd hens or cocks 
should be permitted to be among your working 

50 



flock. Trouble, and lots of it, is sure to follow 
such a policy. Odd cocks create no end of trouble 
in a squab house by continually forcing their at- 
tentions on hens already mated up. Odd hens are 
not so bad as odd cocks, but they, too, cause discord, 
and it is far better to have every pigeon in your 
squab house mated. Overturned nests, broken 
€ggs and crushed squabs will be few and far be- 
tween if this piece of advice is followed. If you 
have any doubts about it, experiment for yourself. 
You will soon be convinced, although the experi- 
ment will prove a costly one. 



A MULTIPLE UNIT HOUSE. 




The above photograph is of house No. 3 on the farm of 
The Indiana Squab Company, at Terre Haute. Indiana. It is 
built after the specifications contained in this book, being 100 
feet long, and divided into 10x12 foot units inside with 10x20 
foot flying pens outside. A three foot passageway extends 
the entire length of the building at the rear of the units. All 
feeding and watering is done from this passageway. There are 
several houses of this kind at this company's plant, all exactly 
alike except one, which is 140 feet long. 

51 



YxVRIOUSLY CONSTRUCTED SQUAB PLANTS. 




The photographs reproduced above should quickly convince 
you that an expensively constructed squab house and flying 
pen is not a positive necessity. All of the above pictures are 
of successful and paying plants, except the one at the top left 
hand corner. The Indiana Squab Company, of Terre Haute, 
Indiana, began business in that old barn loft. It is no longer 
used as a squab plant. 



52 



VARIOUSLY CONSTRUCTED SQUAB PLANTS. 




Above are a few more inexpensively conetructed squjrxb 
plants. Like those on the preceding page all are successful 
and money makers. The one pictured in the lower left hand 
corner is the experimental plant of the author of this book. 
It is a two unit house constructed in accordance with the 
specifications contained in this volume. 



53 



(HAPTEK XI. 

MATING. 

Jfatural and Forced Mating and How to Proce3d — 
The 3Iating Coop. 

Pigeons are mated in two ways. One way is 
termed natural mating and the other forced mating. 
Inbreeding, a subject which is discussed a little 
further on, is apt to occur in the case of natural 
matings. Such a thing is impossible in the case of 
forced matings, provided, of course, you have band- 
ed your youngsters when they were two or three 
weeks old, showing from which pair of old birds 
they originated. 

Natural mating takes place among pigeons when 
a number of fhem, both cocks and hens, are turned 
together in one pen. Each will then seek out the 
bird of its choice. This holds true whether the 
birds be youngsters just reaching the mating age, 
or whether they are birds of mature years. If you 
have a rearing pen full of young birds which you 
have been saving, you will find them beginning to 
mate up at about 5 months of age. When you find 
a pair of young birds driving or with eggs, they 
should both he caught and their parentage ascer- 
tained from the bands on their legs. The sex of 
each bird should have previously been determined. 
You have been advised how to do that. If you find 
upon examination of their bands they are not 
brother and sister, and you are satisfied to permit 
them to continue life together, now is the time to 
remove the open bands whi(ih you placed on their 
legs when they were babies, and replace them 
with the single or double numbered leg bands. The 
cock bird is, of course, banded on the right leg 
and the hen on the left. They are now ready to be 
turned into the pen with the older birds, and will 
begin to build and lay eggs within ten days or two 
weeks. It is possibly more adrisable, however, ta 

54 



I 



put them, back into the rearing pen. and permit 
them to hatch and raise their first set of squabs. 
They will be more experienced and better able to 
take care of themselves when put in with the old 
birds if this is done. 

If you catch a pair of young birds and find upon 
an examination of their leg bands that they are 
brother and sister, then in that case, that particular 
mating should be broken up. If left to continue 
their life together as brother and sister you have 
a pure case of inbreeding, which is not at all de- 
sired. It is not a difficult matter to break up a 
mated pair of this character. You should have in 
your pigeon house at all times two or three small 
boxes. Orange or egg crates for example. Knock 
out the center partion, and nail a few lath across 
the front of the box. Arrange one of the lath so 
it can be removed at will. These are your mating 
coops Into one of these coops put either the cock 
or the hen of the pair which you desire to break 
up, putting the other bird back into the rearing 
pen. Now catch another youngster of mating age, 
of course of opposite sex from the pigeon you put 
in the mating coop. Put this bird into the mating 
coop with the other pigeon. 



MATING COOP. 




The one pictured here is made from, an empty grape fruit 
crate. The center panel has been removed and replaced with 
removable lath. The photograph best explains exactly how 
it is arranged. Mating coops such as this serve the purpose 
splendidly, and cost practically nothing. 



55 



Hang a couple of tin cups upon the lath in front 
of the mating coop. One for water and one for 
grain. A cock and a hen pigeon left together in a 
coop of this character for three days will as a rule 
mate up with one another, and remain so. This is 
not always the case however, and you should watch 
the birds in your mating coop very closely from the 
time you put them together. They may begin to 
pe2k and fight one another at once, or the arrange- 
ment may work out just as you had hoped. Fight- 
ing at first may result in complete understanding 
in the end, and indifference at first may result in 
much fighting. Pigeon nature like that of humans, 
is not all alike. If the pair start off by fighting 
separate them at once, placing one bird in one coop 
by itself and the other bird in another coop. Keep 
them separated for a day or two, and then put them 
together again. Results will in all probability be 
satisfactory. If not you had best release the second 
bird you placed in the coop and try your success 
with some other youngster. As a rule you will 
find the birds will mate up without much difficulty, 
but you will ocasionally run across a case which 
will tax your patience to some extent. 

Many breeders divide their mating coops into 
two parts with a slat partition. They place one 
bird on one side of the coop and one on the other. 
In this manner the two birds can see each other 
and carry on such pigeon conversation as they may 
deem necessary, but cannot get together. They are 
left in this situation for a couple of days, and then 
one or two of the dividing slats is removed, and 
the birds permatted to come together. By quietly 
watching them you can tell in a very few minutes 
whether they are going to mate up or not. The 
divided mating coop is possibly the best arrange- 
ment, and is a very simple and inexpensive article 
to build. No definite size or shape is necessary. 
The one illustrated in this book is made from an 
empty orange crate, and many a pair of birds have 
solemnly sworn to love, honor and obey each other 
within its confines. 

It is quite possible to take any two pairs of your 
older birds, and completely reverse their family re- 
lationship by the use of the mating coop. You can 
take the cock of one pair and the hen of another 
and by the use of the coop cause both of them to 
entirely forget their former family ties. This is 
not particularly a good thing to do, but nevertheless 
it sometimes is advisable. Occasionally you will 

56 



find two pairs of older birds that are not doing as 
well as the rest in your house. By breaking them 
up, and remating them you will in all probability 
improve both pairs. 

It is not advisable to turn into a pen of working 
pigeons a number of new pairs which you may have 
acquired by purchase. Not more than a pair or 
two at a time should be released. It is far better 
to put every pair of new birds purchased into 
mating coops for a day or two after their receipt, 
if such a thing is possible. This does not of course 
apply to a purchase of pigeons wiiich are all to be 
released at the same time in a new house. A pair 
or two of strange pigeons turned into a pen of 
birds which are busily at work will cause con- 
siderable commotion for a time. 




57 



CHAPTER XII. 



INBREEDING. 



How to Prevent It— Not a Preyalent Pigeon Trait — 
Fidelity of Pigeons. 

It hardly seems necessary to say anything on 
the subject of inbreeding and yet questions are 
of daily occurrence, and many of them quite foolish. 
If two squabs of the same parents born at the 
same time prove to be cock and hen, and reach 
mating age and mate with each other; that is a case 
of inbreeding. If a pigeon born in 1912 mates up 
with a pigeon born in 1920, and they are both either 
son or daughter of the same old pair of birds, that 
is inbreeding. The crossing of any member of any 
family with any other member of the same family 
at any time no matter when, is inbreeding. 

A little inbreeding now and then is of no great 
consequence. A continuation of it, however, would 
result in greatly reducing the size and productive 
power of your birds. If inbreeding was as dan- 
gerous as some attempt to make one believe, 
pigeons would soon become a scarce article in this 
world. There is but little inbreeding among pigeons 
who are permitted to choose their own mates. A 
pair of squabs born in the same nest are apt to 
hang together for a considerable length of time 
after having been placed in the rearing pen. It 
is company they seek, not matrimony, and as they 
near the mating age their friendship for one other 
gradually dwindles until they are quite as ready 
to fight with each other as with other birds in the 
pen. Being somewhat human they as a rule place 
their heart at the feet of others than members of 
their own family. 

Do not allow inbreeding to cause you any sleep- 
less nights, or days of worry. You will not be 
bothered with many cases, and as has been shown 
it is a very easy matter to stop any such cases 
which may come under your immediate observa- 
tion. 

58 



Many writers are given to the writing of beauti- 
fully worded tributes about the fidelity of pigeons. 
The love making of two pigeons is an interesting 
and beautiful thing to witness. They do remain 
pretty faithful to one another throughout their 
lives, if left alone. Their love for one another will 
last, however, only so long as they are permitted to 
remain together. Separation; the introduction of 
another cock or hen and your much talked of fidel- 
ity is a shattered idol. They do not pine their lives 
away over lost mates. They promptly hunt out 
another, and forget the past. Also you will dis- 
cover as you go along in the pigeon industry that 
domestic faithfulness among some pigeons is not 
quite the dominant trait some writers attempt to 
make it. The author loves pigeons. He loves to be 
among them, and work with them, but he has 
worked with them long enough and hard enough 
to know them and their many peculiarities, and 
therefore cannot give them, as a whole, a true bill 
on domestic fidelity. 

As this book has to do entirely with squab breed- 
ing pigeons, it can truthfully be said that mating 
your pigeons up one with another because their 
plumage is of the same color, is bad practice. Birds 
which are continually being mated as to color do 
not produce as large squabs as birds of opposite 
color. Pay absolutely no attention to the color of 
the birds' plumage. What you are after in the squab 
industry is big squabs and many of them. You will 
not acquire many large ones if you continually 
worry over the color of the older birds feathers. 
The big squab breeders in this country, when they 
send in an order for breeding stock, never mention 
the color of the adult birds' feathers, unless it be 
to say they do not want any solid colors, such as 
whites and yellows. They want prolific stock, not 
show birds, and so do you, if you wish to succeed. 
Have a few pairs of birds mated up according to 
color if you wish, just for the sake of their beauty, 
but if you are after big squabs and lots of them, 
get the color idea entirely out of your head. 




59 



CHAPTER XIII. 



PIGEO> AILMENTS. 



Canker tlie Most Common, a Result of Filth, 

The most common disease among pigeons is 
canker. This disease comes entirely as a result of 
poor food, filthy water and unclean and damp 
squab houses. Canker forms in the throat and 
mouth of a pigeon. If you open their bill you will 
find a yellow looking mass of matter. It is not a 
contagious disease. It cannot be given by one pigeon 
to another pigeon, but every pigeon in your flock 
can get canker from the same source. The author 
knows of no disease that will run through a flock 
of pigeons, as is the case with chickens. 

You will not often find a case of canker among 
pigeons which fiy at large, nor will you find a case 
of canker among any pigeons which are confined, 
provided they are having the proper food, water and 
the attention which they rightfully deserve. Canker 
therefore is a disease which occurs with pigeons 
who are unfortunate enough to be confined, and at 
the same time suffer the misfortune of not having 
proper attention. 

A case of canker in your flock is a splendid in- 
dication that something is wrong with the feed, wa- 
ter or your cleaning arrangements, and the cause 
should be hunted out at once. Don't get excited 
and don't worry. Find the cause and remove it. 
Also remove the bird with the canker. Kill it if you 
wish although that is not at all necessary. Turn 
it loose and let is hustle for itself for a while. The 
chances are it will begin to show improvement the 
minute it has to hustle for a living. If it eventually 
flies away you would only be out one pigeon the 
same as if you had killed it in the flrst place, and 
the chances are you can recapture it later on should 
it get well. 

60 



There are many remedies advertised to cure the. 
worst case of canker that can be found. Preven- 
tion is worth far more than all the canker remedies 
in the world, and costs nothing. Putting a bird 
with canker into a box and doctoring it with ad- 
vertised cures is a slow and tiresome process, and 
unless the bird be an extremely valuable one, not 
worth the trouble. 

You will not be bothered with sick pigeons if you 
carefully follow what has been told you in this 
book. If you desire to succeed and are just start- 
ing into the business you will. If you are exper- 
ienced you know these things without being told, and 
if you are bull-headed enough to think that much 
of it is tommy-rot, unnecessary and too trouble- 
some, you will do as you please and probably have 
a lot of sick pigeons. 

As great a success with squab raising pigeons is 
not obtained from those which are permitted to fly 
at large as is obtained with pigeons confined within 
a squab house and flying pen. Homing Pigeons 
which you purchase from some one else must of ne- 
cessity be confined. If not every one of them is apt 
to leave you and make an effort to return to the 
place of its birth. That is the instinct of a Homer. 
It is part of his mental fibre, and locking them up 
for a month, twelve months or several years, does 
not alter this condition of mind to any very great 
extent. Most of them will leave you as soon as re- 
leased. The young you raise may be permitted to 
fly at large if so desired. They know no other 
home than the one in which they were born, and 
will always remain with you. These are the birds 
you would train into flying Homers if you cared to 
take up that very interesting and exciting part of 
the pigeon business. There are many Homing 
Pigeon Clubs over the country, and big price? are 
paid for birds with fine records for long flights. 
Nearly every pigeon fancier has a few fine flyers 
which he has developed himself. 

Carneaux pigeons have little homing instinct. 
They can be permitted to fly at large after having 
been confined for a couple of weeks, and will make 
no effort to leave you. Successful squab raisers 
the country over, however, confine their birds, and 
experience has proven it to be the proper procedure. 



61 



CHAPTER XIV. 



PIGEON MANURE— INFERTILE EGGS. 



The Value of the Former— How to Tell the Latter. 

Any one who is not saving and selling his pigeon 
manure is losing money, and at the same time 
wasting a very valuable by-product of his plant. 
The big tanneries of the country use pigeon manure 
in the tanning of hides, and there is always a good 
demand for it at a price which well pays one for 
saving and shipping it. They will not buy manure 
which is mixed with tobacco stems, as the stems 
stain the hides. Save the scrapings from your squab 
house floor. Save the manure which congregates 
about the tops and the inside of your nest boxes. 
Place it somewhere where it will dry thoroughly. 
Put it in sacks holding about 100 pounds. Get into 
touch with your nearest tannery or some . agency 
■dealing in tannery supplies. The income from 
your manure will go a long way toward paying your 
feed bills. All successful squab plants save their 
manure. Any one from whom you purchase breed- 
ing stock will give you the names of buyers of 
pigeon manure. If such a concern can't furnish 
you with the names of those who buy pigeon ma- 
nure, it isn't much of a pigeon concern, and you 
had best do future husiness with one that can. 

You will have but little trouble with lice or any 
other kind of a parasite in your squab house if you 
keep the place properly cleaned. Pigeons are not 
given to having lice like chickens, and won't have 
any upon them if given half a chance to keep clean. 
It is always a good plan in the early spring to go 
through all of your pens and thoroughly whitewash 
the nest boxes and other wood work. During the 
summer months you can occasionally spray the 
various nest hoxes and corners of your loft with a 
liquid disinfectant which any responsible squab 
company offers for sale at a moderate price. A tin 
spraying machine costs but little. Fifty cents or 
so, and a bottle of disinfectant, or lice killer as 

62 



sometimes called, costs but little more, and as it 
is mixed with water in small quantities one bottle 
of it will last you a long time. 

Lice and mites, like canker and other pigeon ail- 
ments, only make their appearance when a wel- 
come is apparently extended to them to come and 
make their home in your squab house. Keep your 
place clean and the parasites will seek other and 
more fertile fields for their operations. 

A hen pigeon will of course at times lay eggs 
which no matter how diligently they may be sat 
upon will not hatch. These are called infertile eggs. 
If the hen pigeon has not received proper attention 
from the male bird she will lay infertile eggs. If 
the cock bird becomes too old his hen is apt to lay 
infertile eggs. If the hen is too old herself a 
similar condition would arise. Occasionally eggs 
get chilled in cold weather and become infertile. It 
is not a difficult matter to tell an infertile egg, and 
it can be done easily and quickly after the eggs 
have been sat upon for about one week. Hold the 
egg in your fingers between your eye and a strong 
light. If the egg be a fertile one you will at this 
time see very clearly the veins radiating from the 
nucleus. If it be an infertile egg no veins will show. 
A prudent and careful squab raiser will carefully 
examine all his eggs after they have been in the 
nest for a week, and destroy all infertile eggs. If a 
pair of birds be sitting on two infertile eggs you 
can readily see that much time will be saved by de- 
stroying those eggs as soon as this fact is dis- 
covered rather than to allow them to sit the full 
17 days, and produce nothing. The pair will im- 
mediately start building for another set of eggs as 
soon as the infertile ones have been removed. After 
you have had some experience you will he able to 
tell infertile eggs by picking them up and giving 
them but a hasty glance. All minor pigeon know- 
ledge comes with experience far better than by 
reading it in books. Learn the important things. 
The little unimportant ones will develop later. For 
example as you go along you will discover that 
pigeons stick to their nests harder, and it takes 
more to scare them off, as the day for the eggs to 
hatch approaches. 



63 



CHAPTER XV. 



THE SQUAB MARKET. 



The Demand Increasing and the Price Adrancing. 

Apparently the business of producing squabs for 
market is in its infancy. More people go into the 
business each year. More squabs are raised and 
shipped to the various distributing centers each 
year, and each year the price holds its own or 
climbs a little higher. People in this country are 
gradually awakening to the fact that a fat squab 
properly cooked is a delicacy of unusual merit. 
Squabs are particularly nutritious, and alw^ays in 
great demand among the sick. Hotels and clubs 
use them by the hundreds of thousands, and would 
use more of them if they could get them. Seldom 
is a banquet of any proportions given these days 
without squab being upon the menu. 

Game birds are rapidly being killed off in this 
country, and if not being killed are protected by 
state and federal laws. Something must fill this 
gap, and squabs are doing it. 

The beginner in the squab industry need not have 
the slightest fear about his ability to dispose of his 
product. He will soon discover that the problem 
he will be confronted witli will be being able to 
supply the demand. Prices paid for squabs are 
naturally higher in the winter months than they 
are during the summer. Many people go away from 
home in summer time, and the price declines with 
a proportionate decline in the demand. There is,. 
however, never a period of the year when squabs 
cannot be raised and sold at a profit. If you live 
in a community where squabs have been but little 
used, you will be compelled to advertise your pro- 
duct to some extent by giving some of your friends 
a sample squab. Many ways will suggest them- 
selves to you which will advertise your product. 

64 



Once started you will experience but little difficulty 
in disposing of all of your squabs to local buyers 
at better prices than it is possible to obtain away 
from home. If you increase your flock to such a 
size that your local demands will not take care 
of your output shipping will then become a neces- 
sity, and there are always plenty of reliable squab 
buyers ready to take all you care to ship them at 
the prevailing market prices. If you purchase your 
breeding stock from a reliable squab company, they 
will always be ready and willing to give you the 
names of responsible squab buyers. Squab com- 
panies keep well posted on all that transpires which 
in any manner affects squabs or the prices of 
squabs, and this information they are always ready 
and willing to give to their customers. In fact they 
gather it for that particular purpose. 

Women and boys are proving themselves quite as 
successful in the art of squab raising as the men. 
Many successful plants are entirely in charge of 
women, and tlicy are making wonderful progress. 
Any one, be he man. woman or boy, who puts his 
mind to the task can make a success of this indus- 
try. Common sense coupled with the fundamentals 
of the business are all that is required. Stupidity 
never gets anywhere, and need not look to the 
squab industry as a fruitful field. 

Purchase the riglit kind of breeding stock from 
a reliable dealer. Pay the price that is demanded 
for goad birds. Keep them in a properly arranged 
squab house, be it loft or the upper portion of a 
chicken house, or a specially built building. Feed 
them the kind of food they should be fed. Water 
them regularly. Keep their premises clean. Do 
these things and success will crown your efforts. 




65 



CHAPTER XVI. 



SHIPPING. 



How to Properly Pack — U^3i Plenty of Ice. 

Ice is far cheaper than squabs. Use plenty of it 
when preparing squabs for shipment. Almost any 
kind of a box will suffice provided it is not made 
from pine lumber. The odor of pine penetrates the 
squabs and renders them unfit for use. It is also 
advisable not to use too large a box. The bottom 
layer of squabs in a large box will suffer if too 
many squabs and too much ice is piled on top of 
them. Line the bottom and sides of your box with 
heavy wrapping paper. Crack your ice to about the 
size of walnuts. Start with a layer of ice. Then a 
layer of squabs, then another layer of ice, and so 
on until the box is filled. There should be plenty 
of ice on top of the last layer of squabs. Cover 
this top layer of ice with heavy wrapping paper and 
nail on the lid. The less cracks and holes in the 
box the better. The idea being to keep out the warm 
air as much as possible. 

The address tag should be very securely tacked 
upon the top of the box, and in addition to having 
the name of the consignee upon it, should also have 
the information that the box contains perishable 
property, dressed squabs, and that the shipment 
should be "rushed." Always write a letter to the 
party to whom you are making the shipment and 
advise him that you have on that date forwarded 
him by a certain express company ^:> many 
squabs of such and such weights. If your squabs 
vary considerably in weight it is advisable to sort 
them according to weight, and ship each weight in 
a separate box. 

Candy buckets are splendid to ship squabs in. 
They can be purchased from any candy store or 
ten cent store for from 3 to 5 cents each, wooden 
top included. They are both air and water tight, and 

66 



will hold from 2 to 3 dozen squabs, depending on 
amount of ice used. They make a very neat pack- 
age, and one easily handled by you and the express 
company. 

During the winter months it is not necessary to 
use large quantities of ice in preparing squabs for 
shipment. During the hot summer months, however, 
use plenty of ice if you wish your squabs to reach 
destination in good condition. Skimping on your 
ice will in all probability mean a big loss in revenue 
for you. Ice is cheap, when compared with squabs. 
You will be allowed a reduction of 25 per cent on 
the weight of your shipment for icing by all express 
companies. 

The express charges on dressed squabs is very 
low. Go to the express company in your town and 
go over the matter very thoroughly with the agent. 
He will gladly give you all the information possible 
on the subject. It is also advisable to prepay the 
express charges on all your shipments. This is not 
necessary, but you will find it will work to your 
advantage to do so. 




67 



SQUAB FACTS IN TABLOID. 



(1) The demand for squalDS far exceeds the sup- 
ply. 

(2) Squabs produce more profit pound for pound 
than any other form of live stock. 

(3) The rate of mortality is very slight. There 
is not a disease which will go through a flock 
of pigeons, as is the case with chickens. 

(4) Good breeding stock should produce squabs 
continuously for from 8 to 10 years with 
proper care. 

(5) Half an hours work each day will take splen- 
did care of a large flock of pigeons. 

(6) Squabs when four weeks old are marketed 
with or without feathers on. 

(7) Pigeons breed the year round, with the ex- 
ception of a short period in the molting sea- 
son, which occurs late in the fall of the year. 

(8) No particular kind of a building is necessary 
for squab raising. It is the breeding stock, 
and the manner in which it is cared for that 
brings the results. 

(9) Pigeons thrive and produce squabs in any 
climate. 

(10) No large investment is necessary. Start small 
and grow big. Pigeons multiply at an aston- 
ishing rate. 

(11) Women and children are quite as successful 
at raising squabs as men. No vast amount of 
technical knowledge is necessary. 

(12) In the care of chickens it is necessary to 
feed and water the youngsters. Not so with 
pigeons. The parent birds feed and water 
their young. 

(13) There is no night work connected with the 
raising of squabs. 

(14) No great amount of space is necessary. A 
squab house or loft as small as 10x12 feet, 
connected with a flying pen 10x15 feet will 
comfortably accommodate 100 pigeons. Fifty 
pairs of squab raisers. 

68 



(15) No matter how absolutely ignorant you may 
now be regarding tiie raising of squabs, you 
can. quickly become efficient by following 
our instructions in this book. 

(16) There is always a good demand for fine breed- 
ing stock. Start with good stock. Raise 
good stock, and you will experience no diffi- 
culty in disposing of all you can raise at a 
satisfactory profit. Some prefer this branch 
of the pigeon industry to that of squab rais- 
ing. There are satisfactory profits awaiting 
you in both branches. 



THE INDIAN A SQUAB 
COMPANY 



Terre Haute, ind„ U. S. A. 



Breeders of 

HOMER "^ CARNEAU 
PIGEONS 



Pigeon Supplies of 
Every Description 



Write for our Combined Catalogue and Instruction 
Book. IT'S FREE 



THE INDIANA SQUAB CO. 

TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA, U. S. A. 



Index 

A. 



Page 
Ailments— Pigeon 60, 61 

B. 

Bath Pans — The kind to use, and where to place them 27 

Bath Pans— Picture of 28 

Bathing— When and how to do it 26, 27 

Bands — Picture of 34 

Banding — How to proceed 32, 33, 34 

Building — Kind to use 4 

C. 

Carneau — Photograph of 3 

Canada Peas — How to feed them 17 

Cards — Record 33 

Cleanliness — How and when to clean 25, 26, 27 

Cleaning— Tools for— Picture 28 

Climate — Pigeons breed in any kind 49 

Common Pigeons — Poor Breeders 4 

Corn — The great staple pigeon food 15 

Cocks — How to raise more than hens 44, 45 

D. 
Driving — When it occurs 13 

E. 

Eggs — When they are laid 13 

Eggs — About handling 14 

Eggs — When they hatch 14 

Eggs— -Transferring from one nest to another 37, 43 

Eg;jrs — First one laid generally contains male squab 44 

Eggs — Ii same nest with squabs 46 

Eggs — Not sold by the dozen 46, 47 

Eggs — Infertile ones 63 

F. 

Feed — The kind to use 15 

Feed — Variety necessary 16 

Feed— Kaffir Corn 16 

Feed — Wheat should be used carefully 16 

Feed — Proportions of grains used 16 

Feed — Kind sold by dealers 16 

Feeders — Photographs and description of 17 

Feeding— How to do so 21, 22 

Feeding — The young 14 

Flying Pen — Arrangement of 10 

Fcuirtains — Drinking — Photographs of 23 

G. 
Grit — Its necessity and how to supply it 20 

H. 

Homer — Photograph of 2 

Hemp Seed — Its value and how to feed it 19 

Hens — How to raise more than cocks 44, 45 

I. 

Inbreeding — How to prevent it 58 

Infertile Eggs — How to tell them 63 

Ice — How to use it when shipping squabs 66, 67 

K. 

Kaffir Corn -Its use and value 16 

Killing — When and how to kill squabs 29 

Killing Machine — Photogi-aph and description of 30 

M. 

Mat?- When the young pigeons do so 36 

Mating Coop — Photograph and description of 55 



Matins'— How to proceed ka r^ -^ 

^^^.V^^'-?-ken ^p in%hip;nents •;•.:::::•''' ''' ''' ''' It 

N. '' 

''"'thenT"r'^'^\*'.^^ ^^^ ^^'^ fro„,_How to arrange 

S'f p^'^f ''■S'^ Bowis-Photograpii' of " 1 1 ! ' ' I 

Nest Bowls— How to arrange them i"'^ 

Nest Boxes-The double kind » 9 

Nests— On the floor . 46 

Nesting Material-Box for-PhotoKraph "of f ? 

Nestincr Material— Kinds used ......■;.■:: JJ 

Oyster Shell— Why it is used ^.' 

Pigeon Milk— What it is 

Pigeons— Peculiarities of 14 

Pigeons-Squab breeding 'varftfes''.' ''' ''' ''' ''' ''' ''• ^J 

Pigcons-How to tell their sex ■;; i^^ia-'i^l 

Pigeons^ Barren ones ^^' ^^' 40 

Pigeons— Solid colored ones ^"^ 

PieeonF— When they molt . ^^ 

Pigeors— Fidelity of 50 

Pigeon— Ailments 59 

Pigeon Manure— Its value ^^' ^^ 

Peanuts— Their use and value ".'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'..', ^^ 

s. '' 

iS'^^i^frieiMt "" "'" ^'* °" '^«- -:::::: :;:::::::f3 

Squab House— Heating same .'.■.■.■.■. ^i■ -fj 

Squab Houses-Photogrraphs o( .'.•.•;.• ' 'e ' 'i ' '^i ' 'll' fS 

SQuabs-How^to^mcrease the number from a ' certain ' pair* '' 

Squabs-Just born-Photogrkph' " of" ■;;.■. ^^' j^ 

Squabs-Two weeks old— Photograph of io 

fiut'~V''^ ^'"f ^ old-PhotSgraph of • ; : : fo 

pu^b^-Es S^d^its"^^^---^ of-Ready-to-kiii::::4l 

Squabs— The market for ; ; • -^^ 

Squab Facts— Tabloid form ■'.■.'■, ^t' ^^ 

bo, 69 

Tobacco Stems— Their use .....*. 

Tools— Cleaning— Picture of '.'.'.'.','.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'..'. 28 

w 

W^f^''~?°'^ .^*^ P'^^^ ** before your birds.. 09 

Water- F oun tarns-Photographs of ... H 

AJeann.g-When to do so Vr;" "?« 

Wneat-Care should be used in feeding' it.:.:. ;;;::::: f^^; . ?6 

Young Pigeons— When they mate o. ,:, 

Young Pigeons-When to wean ^^' ?f 

.00 



LIBRARY OF CONGREf^f. 

002 855 940 9 



i 



